6,226 Shares in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Purchased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,226 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at $59,962,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 31,967.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 936,676 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $46,886,000 after purchasing an additional 933,755 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,284,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $66,137,000 after purchasing an additional 638,169 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 335.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 734,962 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $37,836,000 after purchasing an additional 566,051 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lazard by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,249 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $118,294,000 after buying an additional 483,696 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lazard from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.33.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.73. 762,515 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,208. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 1.32. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $40.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.69%.

Lazard 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.