Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Texas Roadhouse were worth $1,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TXRH. Barclays PLC raised its position in Texas Roadhouse by 14.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,180,842 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $208,539,000 after purchasing an additional 148,462 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the fourth quarter valued at $12,939,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse in the fourth quarter valued at $382,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 433 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.94, for a total value of $105,525.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,183,280. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gregory N. Moore sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.62, for a total value of $187,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,138,941. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,535 shares of company stock valued at $3,140,127. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Texas Roadhouse Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TXRH opened at $192.92 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.37. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.87. Texas Roadhouse, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.73 and a 1 year high of $206.04.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The restaurant operator reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Texas Roadhouse had a return on equity of 34.02% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Texas Roadhouse, Inc. will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

Texas Roadhouse Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Texas Roadhouse’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens dropped their price objective on Texas Roadhouse from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Texas Roadhouse from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $213.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Texas Roadhouse from $179.00 to $175.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price objective on Texas Roadhouse and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Texas Roadhouse from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.62.

Texas Roadhouse Profile

Texas Roadhouse, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It also operates and franchises restaurants under the Texas Roadhouse, Bubba's 33, and Jaggers names in 49 states and ten internationally. Texas Roadhouse, Inc was founded in 1993 and is based in Louisville, Kentucky.