Bokf Na Has $8.99 Million Holdings in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Bokf Na reduced its stake in Lazard by 16.0%, selling 35,247 shares to hold 185,196 shares valued at about $8.99 million.
• Lazard missed Q1 estimates, reporting $0.42 EPS versus a $0.52 consensus and $672.98M revenue versus $707.42M, though revenue was up 16.8% year‑over‑year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share (annualized $2.00, ~4.3% yield), while insiders have sold 80,999 shares in the past three months, including CEO Peter Orszag's sale of 69,170 shares.

Bokf Na lessened its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 185,196 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 35,247 shares during the period. Bokf Na owned 0.16% of Lazard worth $8,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. acquired a new position in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted 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 buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Lazard in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Lazard in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $46.54 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $45.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.91. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.67 and a 1-year high of $58.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.42 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. Lazard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Lazard's payout ratio is presently 79.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Argus dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Four investment 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 MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the business'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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total transaction of $155,275.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $465,707.73. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. 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.

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