SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Acquires 129,490 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 127.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,452 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 129,490 shares during the quarter. Lazard makes up 1.3% of SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda owned about 0.21% of Lazard worth $8,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 1,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at approximately $87,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on LAZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. 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. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.29.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,679,058. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,679,058. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736 in the last quarter. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Trading Down 2.4 %

LAZ stock traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.19. The stock had a trading volume of 519,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 973,506. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.51. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $51.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The company had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Lazard's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lazard's payout ratio is currently -571.43%.

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.