Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Holdings Reduced by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,261 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Lazard were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 3.3% in the second quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd now owns 18,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard by 1,125.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 22.2% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LAZ. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.14.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Lazard stock opened at $52.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -149.23 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.11. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.82 and a 52-week high of $53.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -571.43%.

Lazard 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.