Legg Mason Scales Up

Money manager Legg Mason (LM Quote) saw its net income skyrocket in the third quarter primarily due to a $643.4 million gain from the December sale of its brokerage unit to Citigroup (C Quote) in exchange for Citi's asset management business.

Baltimore-based Legg Mason said earnings rose to $760.3 million, or $5.80 a share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $112.7 million, or 98 cents a share, last year.

The Thomson First Call consensus estimate was for the company to earn $1.03 a share, but that figure doesn't take into account the $3.7 billion asset swap. ...