2,100 Shares in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Purchased by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $108,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,981 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.33.

Lazard Trading Down 4.9 %

NYSE:LAZ opened at $49.46 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.96 and its 200-day moving average is $51.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 188,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,108,350.72. The trade was a 15.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.