Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Acquires Shares of 23,392 Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. opened a new position in Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) in Q4, buying 23,392 shares valued at about $1.136 million.
• Lazard beat Q4 estimates with $0.80 EPS vs. $0.68 expected and $892.1M revenue (up 11% year-over-year), and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.50 (annualized $2.00, yield ~4.3%, payout ratio 91.7%).
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — CEO Peter Orszag sold 69,170 shares and insiders disposed of 80,999 shares in the last 90 days, leaving insiders owning about 3.86% of the stock.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 23,392 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,136,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter valued at $37,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ stock opened at $46.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.84 and a 52-week high of $58.75. The stock's 50 day moving average is $46.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.42.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 7.49%.The company had revenue of $892.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Lazard's payout ratio is 91.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total value of $155,275.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,829 shares in the company, valued at $465,707.73. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. Insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LAZ. Zacks Research raised Lazard from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.88.

Lazard 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.

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