Park Avenue Securities LLC Takes Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,944 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at $1,504,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the first quarter worth about $1,126,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth about $6,733,000. Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $671,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on LAZ shares. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $82,082,569.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 383,497 shares of company stock worth $18,020,696. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE:LAZ opened at $52.70 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of -150.57 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $52.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.10.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently -571.43%.

About Lazard

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.