Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Lowers Stock Holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 63.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 owned approximately 0.26% of AerCap worth $49,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AER. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in AerCap in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of AerCap during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in AerCap during the third quarter worth about $66,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AerCap in the third quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AerCap by 1,148.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AerCap Price 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 P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. AerCap Holdings has a 52 week low of $81.93 and a 52 week high of $107.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.75. AerCap had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AerCap announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s payout ratio is 9.99%.

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.