Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Sold by Amica Mutual Insurance Co.

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. decreased its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 43.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 38,882 shares during the period. Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $2,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 85.8% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total value of $2,919,744.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 234,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,623,437.76. The trade was a 21.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ opened at $46.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.62. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.17.

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.