7,590 Shares in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Acquired by Tradition Wealth Management LLC

Tradition Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,590 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $391,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $35.47 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.62 and a 200-day moving average of $50.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.27.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. As a group, analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LAZ shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Lazard from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.83.

Insider Activity

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,758,184.60. This represents a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Profile

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.