Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP cut its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,150,700 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 111,100 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 1.02% of Lazard worth $59,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 54.3% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 170,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. The trade was 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.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $46.07 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 1.28. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $40.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.64. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.97 and a 52 week high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.39 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LAZ. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.