SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 22.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,585 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,180 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 101,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 204,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,562,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter worth $405,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at about $342,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.14.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,497 shares of company stock worth $18,020,696 over the last quarter. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lazard Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $50.01 on Friday. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.82 and a 12-month high of $51.46. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of -142.89 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s payout ratio is -571.43%.

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.