Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC Purchases Shares of 2,269 Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,269 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 58.9% during 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. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $150,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Up 3.6 %

LAZ stock opened at $47.77 on Monday. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.82 and a 52 week high of $50.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of -136.48 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.66. 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 (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its 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. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The firm had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -571.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.