Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.62 Million Stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) by 71.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,956 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 71,354 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ryanair were worth $1,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Ryanair by 151.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 355,617 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,672,000 after acquiring an additional 213,948 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 977,250 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,485,000 after acquiring an additional 27,700 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ryanair in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,190,000. Metropolis Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 3,949,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $228,266,000 after purchasing an additional 385,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in shares of Ryanair during the 4th quarter worth about $11,255,000. 43.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ryanair Stock Up 2.5%

Ryanair stock opened at $59.96 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.04. The stock has a market cap of $31.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.16. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a twelve month low of $53.14 and a twelve month high of $74.24.

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

Ryanair Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RYAAY. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research raised Ryanair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Ryanair from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Jh Hurley sold 15,000 shares of Ryanair 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 76,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,375,021. This trade represents a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carol Marie Sharkey sold 6,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $182,043.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,677.36. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 126,607 shares of company stock worth $3,386,997 over the last three months.

About Ryanair

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.