Sit Investment Associates Inc. Purchases 1,708 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. grew its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 23,220 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,708 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $3,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AeroVironment in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 1,515.4% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 2,950.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,765,306.80. The trade was a 20.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AVAV shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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 reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $202.40.

AeroVironment Stock Performance

AVAV opened at $111.65 on Monday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.81 and a 1-year high of $236.60. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.17 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.43. The company has a current ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

About AeroVironment

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.