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

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 901,345 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 68,396 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AAR were worth $55,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AIR. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of AAR from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of AAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on AAR from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.20.

AAR Price Performance

AIR stock opened at $50.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.04. The firm 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 quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. AAR Corp. has a 12 month low of $48.80 and a 12 month high of $76.34.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Jessup sold 33,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,357,062.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,449,913.60. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 17,385 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,153,147.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,797,383.58. This represents a 19.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 185,793 shares of company stock worth $12,538,396. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

AAR Company Profile

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.