Lazard, Inc. $LAZ Shares Sold by GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lowered its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZFree Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 290,405 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 13,926 shares during the quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $14,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 59.5% in 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 period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Up 2.8%

Lazard stock opened at $48.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.61. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.67 and a 52 week high of $58.75. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.42 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 8.47%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.05%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total value of $155,275.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,707.73. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Lazard from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.56.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Lazard

Lazard Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LAZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Lazard (NYSE:LAZ)

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