Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Takes Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 180,962 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $8,787,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,120,000 after acquiring an additional 245,205 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $101,153,000 after acquiring an additional 180,244 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,884,093 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $99,442,000 after acquiring an additional 192,008 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,722,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $90,914,000 after acquiring an additional 20,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,620,282 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $85,522,000 after acquiring an additional 101,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $48.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.00 and its 200 day moving average is $48.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.67 and a 52-week high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.42 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 79.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total transaction of $318,317.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $636,756.01. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.56.

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.