Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Stake Increased by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 8.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,018 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter valued at about $1,504,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 110,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,002,000 after buying an additional 35,103 shares during the period. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. raised its stake in Lazard by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 149,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,196,000 after acquiring an additional 40,036 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the first quarter worth about $1,126,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,733,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $48.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 60,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,037,690. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -138.26 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $49.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.47.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently -571.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LAZ. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,982,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,936,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,836,857.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,982,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,313,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 414,000 shares of company stock worth $17,683,738 over the last ninety days. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.