Leuthold Group LLC Buys 49,677 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Leuthold Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 888.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 55,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,677 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $2,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. This represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total value of $155,275.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,707.73. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $45.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.74. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.67 and a 12-month high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.42 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.56.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.