Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Bought by Callahan Advisors LLC

Callahan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,814 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,619 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $2,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $99,969.99. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,403,427.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,403,427.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Up 1.4 %

LAZ opened at $53.18 on Wednesday. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.82 and a 52 week high of $54.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.63. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a return on equity of 46.55% and a net margin of 8.28%. The firm had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 79.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.