Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Purchased by Richardson Financial Services Inc.

Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 1,125.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $28,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Lazard by 943.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,963,865 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $82,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775,664 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter valued at $65,650,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at $47,063,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth about $15,768,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 150.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 531,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $18,509,000 after acquiring an additional 319,384 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Lazard 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 429,604 shares of company stock valued at $19,873,736. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $50.71 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.92. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $50.78. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -144.89 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The company 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 revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -571.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on LAZ. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.71.

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.