Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 6,956 Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 29.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,309 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,956 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $3,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FCFS. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 9.3% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 474,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,296,000 after purchasing an additional 40,535 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 70,840.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 43,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,010,000 after purchasing an additional 43,921 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,439,000. Brant Point Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,391,000. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC bought a new position in FirstCash during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,857,000. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.25.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FCFS opened at $204.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.48. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $128.90 and a 12 month high of $235.97. The company has a current ratio of 4.89, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 9.42%.The company’s revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 19.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total transaction of $454,580.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,121,980.86. This trade represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $2,284,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 140,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,181,902.54. This represents a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 26,000 shares of company stock worth $5,917,004 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Profile

FirstCash, Inc (NASDAQ: FCFS) is a leading integrated operator of pawn stores and provider of short-term consumer loan services in the United States and Mexico. Through its retail pawn outlets, FirstCash offers collateral-based loans secured by personal property, enabling customers to access liquidity without a credit history or traditional bank account. The company also purchases, trades and sells a broad range of secondhand merchandise, including electronics, jewelry and power tools, through its network of conveniently located stores.

In addition to its pawn-broking activities, FirstCash provides unsecured consumer loans designed to meet urgent cash needs.