State Street Corp Acquires 2,805 Shares of Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC)

State Street Corp raised its holdings in Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC - Free Report) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,926 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 2,805 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 0.60% of Willis Lease Finance worth $5,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $146,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Willis Lease Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $525,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,691 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. 93.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Willis Lease Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Down 5.5 %

WLFC stock traded down $11.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $201.99. 34,838 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,419. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 1.09. Willis Lease Finance Co. has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $235.43. The firm's 50 day moving average is $201.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.14.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Willis Lease Finance's payout ratio is currently 7.09%.

Insider Activity at Willis Lease Finance

In related news, President Brian Richard Hole sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.31, for a total transaction of $4,066,200.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 81,164 shares in the company, valued at $16,501,452.84. This represents a 19.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Flaherty sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total transaction of $1,000,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,955 shares in the company, valued at $15,005,241.45. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,164,310 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

Willis Lease Finance Corporation operates as a lessor and servicer of commercial aircraft and aircraft engines worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Leasing and Related Operations, and Spare Parts Sales. The Leasing and Related Operations segment engages in acquiring and leasing commercial aircraft, aircraft engines, and other aircraft equipment, as well as the purchase and resale of commercial aircraft engines and other aircraft equipment, and other related businesses.