Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC Buys 16,114 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Lazard, Inc. by 44.5%, acquiring an additional 16,114 shares during the second quarter.
• Lazard reported a net profit of $0.56 EPS for the quarter, surpassing estimates, and experienced a revenue decrease of 4.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which reflects a 4.1% yield, with the ex-dividend date on November 3rd.

Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,343 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 16,114 shares during the quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Lazard were worth $2,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Lazard by 2,324.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,099,179 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $264,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847,608 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,619,280 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $243,315,000 after purchasing an additional 21,065 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Lazard by 141.6% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,263,046 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $97,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,370 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,690,943 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $73,214,000 after purchasing an additional 406,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,644,323 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $71,199,000 after purchasing an additional 487,574 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:LAZ opened at $49.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a current ratio of 2.53. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.25.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $782.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.91 million. Lazard had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 34.33%. Lazard's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "moderate buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price target on shares of Lazard and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Lazard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Three investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $2,847,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,979,759.25. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $1,756,572.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 183,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,913,290.66. This represents a 15.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 108,092 shares of company stock worth $6,030,986. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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