Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Sells 1,045 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,940 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,045 shares during the quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 58.9% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $88,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Lazard from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the business’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 sale, the chairman now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the business’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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,679,058. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,658,086 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE:LAZ traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $54.24. 169,033 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 951,062. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The company has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -151.73 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.82 and a 1 year high of $54.57.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 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 return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -571.43%.

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.