Lesa Sroufe & Co Boosts Stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Lesa Sroufe & Co boosted its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,855 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 2,214 shares during the period. Lazard accounts for about 2.1% of Lesa Sroufe & Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Lesa Sroufe & Co’s holdings in Lazard were worth $2,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 943.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,963,865 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $82,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775,664 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $47,063,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 150.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 531,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,509,000 after purchasing an additional 319,384 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 254.2% during the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 377,693 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,144,000 after purchasing an additional 271,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 169.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 262,003 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,970,000 after purchasing an additional 164,591 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $41.32. 886,154 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,062,023. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -118.05 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $42.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $678.57 million. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 37.27% and a negative net margin of 0.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently -571.41%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,982,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $77,836,857.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 207,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,321,128 in the last ninety days. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LAZ. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Lazard from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

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.