California State Teachers Retirement System Has $573,000 Stock Position in Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC)

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC - Free Report) by 1,213.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,759 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,549 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System's holdings in Willis Lease Finance were worth $573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WLFC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 511,472 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $106,154,000 after purchasing an additional 17,500 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,100 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,493,000 after purchasing an additional 19,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,118 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,188 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Palisades Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 20,928 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares during the period. 93.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Willis Lease Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other Willis Lease Finance news, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 11,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.95, for a total transaction of $1,529,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 987,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,188,903.70. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.82, for a total value of $544,479.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,612,556.08. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,165 shares of company stock valued at $5,681,512 in the last ninety days. 57.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Willis Lease Finance Stock Performance

WLFC stock traded down $3.30 on Friday, reaching $142.41. 88,631 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,212. Willis Lease Finance Co. has a 12 month low of $58.63 and a 12 month high of $235.43. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $140.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 1.06. 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 (NASDAQ:WLFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The transportation company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($2.20). The firm had revenue of $157.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a net margin of 18.56% and a return on equity of 20.62%.

Willis Lease Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Willis Lease Finance's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.85%.

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.