State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 13.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,991 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,965 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Lazard were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LAZ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised 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 buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE LAZ opened at $55.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.25 and a 12 month high of $61.14. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $51.56 and a 200-day moving average of $45.56.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.68%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction 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 5.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086. 3.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.