Lazard, Inc. $LAZ Shares Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has increased its stake in Lazard, Inc. by 89.9%, owning approximately $3.65 million worth of stock as of the last reporting period.
• Lazard has seen increased interest from institutional investors, with several funds boosting their holdings significantly during the first quarter of the year.
• Analysts have issued varied ratings for Lazard, with target prices ranging from $33.00 to $65.00, while the stock currently has an average price target of $52.33.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 89.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,315 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 39,926 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of Lazard worth $3,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard in the first quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard in the first quarter worth $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 worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in Lazard by 861.2% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,057 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 12.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,259 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities set a $60.00 price target on shares of Lazard and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Lazard from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CAO Michael Gathy sold 617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.37, for a total value of $34,163.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $2,847,500.00. Following the completion of 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,617 shares of company stock worth $4,274,413. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $56.73. 994,853 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 748,637. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.88.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.97%.

Lazard Company 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.