SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 15,011 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 67.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 15,011 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Lazard in the second quarter worth about $34,305,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,201,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 1,065.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 347,564 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,334,000 after buying an additional 317,738 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,120,000 after buying an additional 245,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 11.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,884,093 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $99,442,000 after acquiring an additional 192,008 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $41.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.66 and its 200 day moving average is $49.65. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $58.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $892.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 91.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Lazard in a report on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total transaction of $155,275.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,707.73. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at $8,597,995.92. This trade represents a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962. 3.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lazard Profile

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.