AlphaQuest LLC Has $59,000 Stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 85.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $59,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 209.0% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.17.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $45.77 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $50.42 and a 200 day moving average of $51.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 188,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,108,350.72. This trade represents a 15.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total value of $2,919,744.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 234,824 shares in the company, valued at $10,623,437.76. The trade was a 21.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

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.