Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 6,465 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 20.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,556 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 6,465 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empire Life Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 19,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Lazard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,534 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,689,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Sweet Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lazard by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 204,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,562,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,982,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 154,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $6,197,607.51. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,989,591 shares in the company, valued at $80,001,454.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $270,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,982,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,313,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LAZ. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price target (down from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lazard from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.00.

Lazard Trading Up 1.4 %

Lazard stock opened at $39.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $38.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $678.57 million. Lazard had a negative net margin of 0.63% and a positive return on equity of 37.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.26) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently -571.41%.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.