Jane Street Group LLC Makes New $531,000 Investment in Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC)

Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 3,571 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WLFC. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 7.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,926 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,941,000 after buying an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the third quarter valued at $4,136,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 173.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after buying an additional 14,590 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willis Lease Finance during the third quarter valued at $525,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 48.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 17,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,628,000 after buying an additional 5,731 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Willis Lease Finance

In other Willis Lease Finance news, President Brian Richard Hole sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.31, for a total value of $4,066,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 81,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,501,452.84. This trade represents a 19.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rae Ann Mckeating sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $97,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,206,280. This represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,164,310 over the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Willis Lease Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Willis Lease Finance Price Performance

Shares of WLFC stock opened at $217.50 on Monday. Willis Lease Finance Co. has a 1-year low of $45.32 and a 1-year high of $235.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $204.19 and its 200 day moving average is $143.94. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.84, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Willis Lease Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Willis Lease Finance’s payout ratio is currently 7.09%.

About Willis Lease Finance

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.