Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 3,465 Shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its holdings in AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 139,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,465 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in AerCap were worth $13,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in AerCap by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,601,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $545,726,000 after acquiring an additional 282,980 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in AerCap by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,862,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,579,000 after acquiring an additional 370,906 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 167,830 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in AerCap by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,737,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,574,000 after acquiring an additional 22,346 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC increased its position in AerCap by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 1,589,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,595,000 after acquiring an additional 32,911 shares during the period. 96.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AER has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of AerCap from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group cut shares of AerCap to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of AerCap in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.43.

AerCap Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:AER opened at $97.07 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.35. AerCap Holdings has a 12 month low of $81.93 and a 12 month high of $107.36.

AerCap (NYSE:AER) last posted its quarterly 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 during 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%. Analysts expect that AerCap Holdings will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

AerCap Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from AerCap’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. AerCap’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.99%.

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.