Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Holdings Lifted by Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC

Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 108.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,711 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 22,755 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC's holdings in Lazard were worth $2,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 1,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 58.9% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $88,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $74,679,058. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 87,770 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $74,679,058. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 383,497 shares of company stock valued at $18,020,696. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.14.

Lazard Trading Down 0.9 %

LAZ traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $52.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 753,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,857. 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 $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -149.23 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.11. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.82 and a 52-week high of $53.10.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The company's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -571.43%.

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.