Marshall Wace LLP Sells 138,360 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its position in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER - Free Report) by 58.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 138,360 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in AerCap were worth $9,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AER. Kize Capital LP increased its position in shares of AerCap by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Kize Capital LP now owns 142,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,597,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in AerCap by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 9,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in AerCap by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 10,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 5,974 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of AerCap by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 33,540 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,210,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of AerCap in the 4th quarter worth approximately $354,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.42% of the company's stock.

AerCap Price Performance

Shares of AerCap stock opened at $97.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.27 and a 200 day moving average of $97.19. AerCap Holdings has a 52 week low of $82.21 and a 52 week high of $107.36. The company has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.46. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AerCap Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from AerCap's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AerCap's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.99%.

AerCap announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of AerCap to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on AerCap from $112.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AerCap has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.14.

About AerCap

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.

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