Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 71,354 Shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management cut its Ryanair stake by 71.8%, selling 71,354 shares and retaining 27,956 shares valued at approximately $1.62 million. Institutional investors overall own 43.66% of the company.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with six analysts rating Ryanair a Buy and four rating it Hold. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a consensus price target of $79.50.
• Ryanair reported quarterly EPS of $1.19, below the $1.37 analyst estimate, while revenue of $5 billion also fell short of forecasts. The company declared a special dividend of $0.4434 per share, payable September 28 to shareholders of record August 7.

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) by 71.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,956 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 71,354 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ryanair were worth $1,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Ryanair by 280.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 472 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ryanair by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 484 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Ryanair by 2,929.4% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 515 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 653 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 43.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on RYAAY shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ryanair from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.50.

Ryanair Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of RYAAY stock opened at $59.96 on Tuesday. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 12-month low of $53.14 and a 12-month high of $74.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.30 and a 200-day moving average of $62.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.16.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The transportation company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.18). Ryanair had a return on equity of 21.23% and a net margin of 12.14%.The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Research analysts expect that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.4434 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Ryanair's payout ratio is currently 17.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Paul Mcguinness sold 12,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $326,737.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 24,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at $632,147.04. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider John Jh Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.24, for a total transaction of $468,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 76,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,375,021. The trade was a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 126,607 shares of company stock worth $3,386,997 in the last three months.

Ryanair Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc is an Irish low-cost airline group headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1984, the company grew into one of Europe's largest budget carriers by offering point-to-point scheduled passenger services with an emphasis on low fares, high aircraft utilization and rapid turnaround times. Ryanair serves a broad network across Europe and nearby regions, focusing on both intra-European leisure travel and short-haul business routes.

The group primarily operates a single-type fleet based on the Boeing 737 family, supplemented by a mix of in-house and subsidiary airlines that help serve different markets and regulatory environments.

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