Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Grows Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 51.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,129 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVAV. Security National Bank acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the third quarter worth $31,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AeroVironment by 51.0% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ AVAV opened at $180.36 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $171.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.93. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $119.46 and a one year high of $236.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 103.66 and a beta of 0.50.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.29). AeroVironment had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CFO Kevin Patrick Mcdonnell sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.73, for a total transaction of $78,697.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,480.56. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AVAV shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

AeroVironment Company 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.