Interval Partners LP Purchases Shares of 42,587 Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 42,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,626,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,678,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $447,103,000 after purchasing an additional 152,857 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,043,754 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $78,031,000 after acquiring an additional 79,889 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at about $65,650,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $47,063,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 7.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 651,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,875,000 after purchasing an additional 44,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ stock opened at $50.49 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -144.26 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $51.44.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued 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. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The business had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $625.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s payout ratio is -571.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at $86,403,427.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 429,604 shares of company stock valued at $19,873,736. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.29.

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.