Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Stock Position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 36.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,722 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of AeroVironment worth $2,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. RiverPark Advisors LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 388 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 581 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of AeroVironment in the third quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total value of $176,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,165.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AeroVironment news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total value of $176,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,165.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total transaction of $350,079.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,570 shares in the company, valued at $470,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AVAV shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $161.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.20.

AeroVironment Price Performance

Shares of AeroVironment stock opened at $155.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.59. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.24 and a 12-month high of $184.61.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.30. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $186.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.