Troluce Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Troluce Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 426,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 117,500 shares during the period. Lazard comprises about 1.6% of Troluce Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Lazard worth $16,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Lazard by 1,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth approximately $87,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,936,722 shares in the company, valued at $77,836,857.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $99,969.99. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,727,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,403,427.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,936,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,836,857.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on LAZ shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.29.

Lazard Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE LAZ opened at $51.06 on Wednesday. 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 $51.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.19.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.