Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 15.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,525 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 5,035 shares during the period. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC's holdings in Lazard were worth $1,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard during the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 164.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 170.8% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $2,847,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,979,759.25. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael Gathy sold 617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.37, for a total value of $34,163.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,092 shares of company stock valued at $6,030,986 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $51.71 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 1.37. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.14. Lazard had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The firm had revenue of $796.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $674.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Lazard's payout ratio is 68.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LAZ shares. Zacks Research lowered Lazard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Lazard from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $60.00 target price on Lazard and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.14.

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.

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