LWM Advisory Services LLC Invests $88,000 in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,316 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $88,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 58.9% in the 2nd 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. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Lazard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,534 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 22.2% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 0.4% during the first quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 204,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,562,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LAZ shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,403,427.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736 over the last 90 days. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $47.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -136.51 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.62. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.82 and a 1 year high of $50.26.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. Lazard’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -571.41%.

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.