O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. Sells 690 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,660 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 690 shares during the quarter. Lazard accounts for 3.2% of O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Lazard worth $10,512,000 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. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 101,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the first quarter valued at approximately $405,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the first quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth $362,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at $86,403,427.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at $78,235,326.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,497 shares of company stock worth $18,020,696 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE:LAZ opened at $48.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of -138.13 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $51.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -571.43%.

About Lazard

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.