Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $2.29 Million Investment in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 44,388 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,285,000.

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

Lazard Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $43.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.62.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This represents a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LAZ shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

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.