American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Position in AAR Corp. $AIR

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in AAR Corp. by 5.4%, now holding approximately 2.34% of the company valued at $47.3 million after selling 48,276 shares.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with 90.74% of AAR's stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, while several firms increased their positions in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for AAR, with multiple upgrades to a "buy" rating and target prices raised to an average of $83.75.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 845,546 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 48,276 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.34% of AAR worth $47,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in AAR by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of AAR by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,387 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AAR in the fourth quarter worth $6,849,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AAR by 761.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 887 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AAR by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,655 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.74% of the company's stock.

AAR Price Performance

Shares of AIR stock traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $75.02. 235,845 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 378,373. AAR Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $46.51 and a fifty-two week high of $86.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 227.34 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.47.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The aerospace company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $754.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $695.81 million. AAR had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 11.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AAR Corp. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AIR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on AAR from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on AAR from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. KeyCorp raised their target price on AAR from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AAR from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, AAR has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $83.75.

Insider Activity at AAR

In related news, CFO Sean M. Gillen sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $1,392,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 99,868 shares in the company, valued at $7,726,787.16. This represents a 15.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 3,631 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total transaction of $279,877.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 39,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,015,138.36. This represents a 8.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,182 shares of company stock worth $7,331,452 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AAR 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.