Castleark Management LLC Buys 21,250 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Castleark Management LLC increased its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 133,080 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 21,250 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Lazard worth $6,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAZ. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of Lazard stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $42.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 518,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,853. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.28. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total value of $2,919,744.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 234,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,623,437.76. This trade represents a 21.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.33.

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.