Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 17,722 Shares of Willis Lease Finance Corporation $WLFC

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Willis Lease Finance Corporation by 50,634.3% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.23% of the company valued at $2.81 million.
• CEO Austin Chandler Willis and President Brian Richard Hole sold shares of the company, with insider transactions totaling $1.86 million over the last three months.
• Willis Lease Finance reported $8.43 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, equating to a 0.7% yield.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC - Free Report) by 50,634.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,757 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,722 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned approximately 0.23% of Willis Lease Finance worth $2,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 643 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $897,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Willis Lease Finance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $312,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 205,266.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,161 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 6,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Willis Lease Finance by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,324 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.70% of the company's stock.

Willis Lease Finance Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WLFC stock traded down $0.21 on Tuesday, reaching $148.31. 36,405 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,144. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 52 week low of $119.93 and a 52 week high of $235.43. The company has a current ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 5.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $146.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.28.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The transportation company reported $8.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $5.86. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 21.75% and a net margin of 18.77%.The firm had revenue of $195.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.00 million.

Willis Lease Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Willis Lease Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Lease Finance news, Chairman Charles F. Iv Willis sold 30,000 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total transaction of $4,650,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 957,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,361,270.92. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Austin Chandler Willis sold 3,400 shares of Willis Lease Finance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.15, for a total value of $493,510.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 189,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,500,554.45. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,003 shares of company stock valued at $8,753,643. Insiders own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Willis Lease Finance Company Profile

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.