AlphaQuest LLC Buys 525 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 85.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 525 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $59,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 209.0% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at $7,758,184.60. The trade was a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541 in the last quarter. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LAZ. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $45.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.65. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $61.14.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.19%.

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.