Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 65,800 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Two Sigma Advisers LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,261,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 65,800 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Lazard were worth $63,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LAZ. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $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 during the third quarter worth $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $88,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $56.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.94 and its 200-day moving average is $47.39. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $30.99 and a one year high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The company’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.