Bank of America Corp DE Sells 145,316 Shares of Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its position in Air Lease Co. (NYSE:AL - Free Report) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,222,289 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 145,316 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.10% of Air Lease worth $58,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Air Lease by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,708 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Air Lease by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,655 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Air Lease by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 45,851 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,210,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in Air Lease by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 43,524 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,098,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Air Lease by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 84,707 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,084,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AL shares. Bank of America cut Air Lease from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Air Lease from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on Air Lease in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Air Lease from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Lease currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.67.

Air Lease Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AL stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $57.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,018,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 774,817. Air Lease Co. has a 52-week low of $38.25 and a 52-week high of $57.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.33.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The transportation company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.27. Air Lease had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 15.65%. The firm had revenue of $738.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $709.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Air Lease Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Lease Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Air Lease's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.38%.

Insider Activity at Air Lease

In related news, EVP Grant A. Levy sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.85, for a total transaction of $568,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 146,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,318,064.60. This represents a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Lease Company Profile

Air Lease Corporation, an aircraft leasing company, engages in the purchase and leasing of commercial jet aircraft to airlines worldwide. It sells aircraft from its fleet to third parties, including other leasing companies, financial services companies, airlines, and other investors. The company provides fleet management services to investors and owners of aircraft portfolios.