Citigroup Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 25.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,795 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 37,598 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.39% of AeroVironment worth $12,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 171.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new stake in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 56.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 398 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AVAV shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Sunday, June 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $335.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.33.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In related news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 17,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.05, for a total value of $4,550,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,233 shares in the company, valued at $32,153,390.65. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

Shares of AVAV stock opened at $249.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 161.12 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $241.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.63. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.25 and a 12 month high of $295.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $275.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $242.69 million. AeroVironment had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 10.68%. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.