Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR - Free Report) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 494,002 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 89,818 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.39% of AAR worth $30,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in AAR during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of AAR during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of AAR by 592.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,184 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in AAR in the 3rd quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in AAR during the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. Institutional investors own 90.74% of the company's stock.

AAR Stock Performance

NYSE:AIR traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.24. The company had a trading volume of 130,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 289,899. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.91 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $65.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.69. AAR Corp. has a 52 week low of $50.06 and a 52 week high of $73.95.

AAR (NYSE:AIR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The aerospace company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.01. AAR had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $567.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.63 million. On average, analysts forecast that AAR Corp. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AAR

In other AAR news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 29,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $1,761,142.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 303,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,281,020.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO John Mcclain Holmes III sold 29,250 shares of AAR stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $1,761,142.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 303,621 shares in the company, valued at $18,281,020.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jessica A. Garascia sold 7,352 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.37, for a total value of $465,896.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,784,816.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,770 shares of company stock worth $6,387,031 in the last three months. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of AAR in a research note on Monday, January 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Benchmark upped their price objective on AAR from $65.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on AAR from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of AAR in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.50.

About AAR

AAR Corp. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. It operates through Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services segments. The Aviation Services segment engages in lease and sale of new, overhauled and repaired engine, and airframe parts and components, as well as aircrafts; and offers customized flight hour component inventory and repair, warranty claim management, and outsourcing programs for engine and airframe parts and components.