Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Sold by Ariel Investments LLC

Ariel Investments LLC cut its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,598,215 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 552,653 shares during the period. Lazard accounts for about 3.1% of Ariel Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Ariel Investments LLC owned 4.96% of Lazard worth $288,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth approximately $2,322,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Lazard by 10.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $113,357,000 after acquiring an additional 206,295 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 45,549 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth $3,813,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total value of $2,940,396.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at $7,758,184.60. This represents a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541 in the last ninety days. 3.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lazard Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of LAZ stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $40.00. 1,403,193 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 960,506. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.28. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $61.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $41.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $669.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.83.

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.