Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,393,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 207,980 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.72% of AerCap worth $516,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in AerCap by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 50,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,797,000 after buying an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AerCap by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AerCap by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 1,269,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,485,000 after purchasing an additional 23,285 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA purchased a new stake in AerCap in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in AerCap by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 49,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.42% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AER. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AerCap from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group cut AerCap to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AerCap presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.43.

AerCap Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of AER traded down $5.21 on Thursday, hitting $98.76. 2,466,913 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,340,567. AerCap Holdings has a one year low of $81.93 and a one year high of $107.36. The company has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 7.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.32. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. AerCap had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 32.38%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from AerCap's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.99%.

AerCap declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AerCap Company 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.