Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 304,045 AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 304,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,789,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 299.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 333,193 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $51,275,000 after purchasing an additional 32,663 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 136,652 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,107 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AeroVironment by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 217,806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,518,000 after purchasing an additional 84,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at $776,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AVAV opened at $124.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $162.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.36. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.26 and a beta of 0.42. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.07 and a 12-month high of $236.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVAV. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $202.40.

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.