Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Reduces Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,742 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 355 shares during the quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $150,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $47.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -136.51 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.62. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.82 and a 52-week high of $50.26.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -571.41%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.71.

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.