Moran Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lazard, Inc. during the 2nd quarter, buying 54,000 shares valued at approximately $2.59 million.
• CEO Peter Richard Orszag and another executive sold significant portions of their stock holdings, indicating a 15.05% and 17.99% decrease in their positions, respectively.
• Analyst ratings for Lazard vary, with Zacks cutting the stock's rating from "strong-buy" to "hold" and several firms adjusting target prices, reflecting mixed sentiment among equities research analysts.

Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 54,000 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,591,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Lazard by 57.2% in the second 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. bought a new stake in Lazard during the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 164.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 170.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $1,756,572.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,913,290.66. The trade was a 15.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 227,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,979,759.25. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,092 shares of company stock worth $6,030,986 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Lazard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "moderate buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JMP Securities set a $60.00 price objective on Lazard and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lazard from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.43.

Lazard Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:LAZ opened at $49.88 on Thursday. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $61.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.97%.

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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