Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Purchased by SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 127.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 231,452 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 129,490 shares during the quarter. Lazard makes up approximately 1.3% of SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda owned about 0.21% of Lazard worth $8,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,678,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $447,103,000 after buying an additional 152,857 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,043,754 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $78,031,000 after acquiring an additional 79,889 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth approximately $65,650,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 651,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,875,000 after buying an additional 44,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Lazard by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 481,406 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,370,000 after acquiring an additional 77,974 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $50.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -143.87 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $51.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The company had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently -571.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LAZ. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at $78,235,326.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at $82,082,569.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 429,604 shares of company stock valued at $19,873,736. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.