Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Sold by Penn Capital Management Company LLC

Penn Capital Management Company LLC reduced its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 310,586 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 59,016 shares during the period. Lazard comprises approximately 1.6% of Penn Capital Management Company LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Lazard worth $15,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LAZ. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Lazard by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,169 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 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. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Lazard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,129 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its stake in Lazard by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,981 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. The trade was a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Lazard Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE LAZ traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.20. 926,130 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 951,306. The company's fifty day moving average is $42.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 1.27.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.83.

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.