Franklin Resources Inc. Has $55.23 Million Stock Position in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 901,345 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 68,396 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.51% of AAR worth $55,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of AAR by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in AAR by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AAR in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,321,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in AAR by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 45,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,817,000 after buying an additional 10,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AAR by 215.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 128,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,885,000 after buying an additional 87,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on AAR from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded AAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of AAR from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.20.

Insider Activity

In other AAR news, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 17,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total value of $1,153,147.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,326 shares in the company, valued at $4,797,383.58. This trade represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 128,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.76, for a total value of $8,573,786.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 346,680 shares in the company, valued at $23,144,356.80. This trade represents a 27.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,793 shares of company stock worth $12,538,396 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

AAR Price Performance

AIR opened at $50.09 on Friday. AAR Corp. has a 12 month low of $48.80 and a 12 month high of $76.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 178.90 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.04.

AAR (NYSE:AIR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The aerospace company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $678.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.13 million. AAR had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

About AAR

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. The Parts Supply segment leases and sells aircraft components and replacement parts. The Repair & Engineering segment provides airframe maintenance services, such as airframe inspection, painting, line maintenance, airframe modification, structural repair, avionics service and installation, exterior and interior refurbishment, and engineering and support services; component repair services comprising maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, engine and airframe accessories, and interior refurbishment; and landing gear overhaul services, including repair services on wheels and brakes.