Legg Mason Inc. said Tuesday that its board had approved a 3-for-2 stock split, payable Sept. 24 to shareholders of record Sept. 8. The move came a day after the company reported quarterly earnings that missed analysts’ expectations.
The Baltimore financial services company on Monday reported a 48% profit increase for its fiscal first quarter, attributing the earnings hike to an increase in investment advisory fees.
Legg Mason said it had net income of $86.4 million, or $1.14 a share — 9 cents less than the average of analysts’ estimates — in the quarter ended June 30, compared with $58.4 million, or 83 cents a share, a year earlier.
The company’s board also approved a 50% increase in its quarterly dividend, to 15 cents a share, on a split-adjusted basis. The dividend is payable Oct. 25 to shareholders of record Oct. 7.
