Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Acquired by Rheos Capital Works Inc.

Rheos Capital Works Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 118.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,000 shares during the period. Rheos Capital Works Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Lazard worth $8,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Lazard by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 101,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Lazard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 204,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,562,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at $405,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc bought a new position in Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at $342,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LAZ. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.14.

Lazard Trading Up 2.2 %

Lazard stock opened at $54.29 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.84 and its 200-day moving average is $43.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.82 and a 1 year high of $54.57. The company has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -155.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently -571.43%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of Lazard 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at $86,403,427.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $99,969.99. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,403,427.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086 in the last ninety days. 3.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lazard Company 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.