Penn Capital Management Company LLC Has $12.75 Million Stock Holdings in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Penn Capital Management Company LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 261,866 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 12,941 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Lazard worth $12,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. bought a new position in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Lazard by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total transaction of $318,317.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,756.01. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ opened at $48.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.04 and a 200 day moving average of $48.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 3.51. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.67 and a fifty-two week high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.42 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.05%.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.