Lazard, Inc. $LAZ Stock Position Raised by Riverwater Partners LLC

Riverwater Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 71.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,801 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,373 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.4% during the second quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 8,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Lazard by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Xponance LLC grew its position in Lazard by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in Lazard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 47,628 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Up 3.7%

LAZ opened at $42.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.59 and a 200 day moving average of $48.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.67 and a 12 month high of $58.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.42 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. This represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total transaction of $318,317.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $636,756.01. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962 over the last quarter. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.