Aigen Investment Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,178 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Lazard were worth $628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lazard by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,678,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $447,103,000 after acquiring an additional 152,857 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Lazard by 10.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,650,000. Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 10,306.7% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,259,000 after buying an additional 1,223,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 7.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 651,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,875,000 after buying an additional 44,151 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This represents 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 this link. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $54.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.25 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.26 and a 200 day moving average of $45.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The company had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

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.