Argent Trust Co Has $1.85 Million Stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the first quarter worth $48,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter worth $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter valued at about $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total transaction of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,936,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,836,857.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total transaction of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,936,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,836,857.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 429,604 shares of company stock valued at $19,873,736. 3.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ opened at $49.75 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -142.14 and a beta of 1.39. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.82 and a 1 year high of $50.26.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s payout ratio is -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.