AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 63.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 520,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 917,622 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in AerCap were worth $49,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AER. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AerCap by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,726,000 after acquiring an additional 282,980 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in AerCap by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,862,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $460,579,000 after purchasing an additional 370,906 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in AerCap by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,934,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,802,000 after purchasing an additional 86,548 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of AerCap by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,550,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,068,000 after purchasing an additional 167,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of AerCap by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,737,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,574,000 after buying an additional 22,346 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AerCap Stock Performance

AerCap stock opened at $102.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. AerCap Holdings has a one year low of $81.93 and a one year high of $107.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is an increase from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AER. UBS Group lowered AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.43.

AerCap Profile

AerCap Holdings N.V. engages in the lease, financing, sale, and management of commercial flight equipment in China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers aircraft asset management services, such as remarketing aircraft and engines; collecting rental and maintenance rent payments, monitoring aircraft maintenance, monitoring and enforcing contract compliance, and accepting delivery and redelivery of aircraft and engines; and conducting ongoing lessee financial performance reviews.