AE Wealth Management LLC Buys 11,039 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 362,304 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,039 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC owned 0.32% of Lazard worth $17,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth $37,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter worth about $42,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LAZ. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $47.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.50.

Lazard Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $49.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.12. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.45 and a fifty-two week high of $58.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The company had revenue of $892.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total value of $318,317.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,756.01. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962 over the last ninety days. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.