Luxfer Holdings PLC $LXFR Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR) by 51.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 79,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 83,984 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Luxfer were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Luxfer by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 257,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,052,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Luxfer by 115.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 46,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 24,969 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Luxfer by 20.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 3,268 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Luxfer by 0.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 172,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Luxfer by 58.9% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 133,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 49,419 shares during the period. 90.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LXFR. Wall Street Zen lowered Luxfer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 31st. Zacks Research downgraded Luxfer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Luxfer in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Luxfer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Clive Snowdon sold 4,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.05, for a total value of $60,425.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,841 shares in the company, valued at $403,957.05. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick K. Mullen sold 5,323 shares of Luxfer stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.05, for a total value of $80,111.15. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 42,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,282.25. This trade represents a 11.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 21,368 shares of company stock valued at $321,588 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Luxfer Stock Up 0.2%

Luxfer stock opened at $17.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Luxfer Holdings PLC has a 1-year low of $11.26 and a 1-year high of $19.45. The company has a market cap of $457.46 million, a PE ratio of 56.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.24.

Luxfer (NYSE:LXFR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Luxfer had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The firm had revenue of $95.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.30 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Luxfer Holdings PLC will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Luxfer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Luxfer’s payout ratio is presently 173.33%.

Luxfer Company Profile

Luxfer Gas Cylinders, trading as Luxfer (NYSE: LXFR), is a global manufacturer specializing in high-performance, lightweight gas cylinders. The company produces both aluminium and composite cylinders designed to store and transport high-pressure gases for industrial, medical, diving, firefighting and defense applications. Its portfolio includes seamless aluminium cylinders, wrapped composite cylinders and pressure vessel components tailored to meet stringent safety and performance standards.

Founded on more than a century of materials expertise originating from the Luxfer Graphic Magnesium Company established in 1898, Luxfer has evolved into a leader in cylinder innovation.