Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $2.29 Million in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 44,388 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,285,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Lazard by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,169 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Lazard by 2.5% in the 4th 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. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 1.8% during 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 in the last quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc raised its position in shares of Lazard by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 27,000 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,390,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,298 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Trading Down 15.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded down $6.99 on Thursday, hitting $38.50. 3,689,765 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 902,239. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $49.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. Lazard's payout ratio is 75.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total value of $2,919,744.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 234,824 shares in the company, valued at $10,623,437.76. The trade was a 21.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541 over the last quarter. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.