Lazard, Inc. $LAZ Holdings Raised by Amica Mutual Insurance Co.

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 60.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 189,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,875 shares during the quarter. Lazard accounts for approximately 0.8% of Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $9,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Lazard news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total transaction of $318,317.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,756.01. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. This represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.56.

Lazard Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $47.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.44. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $38.67 and a one year high of $58.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.51 and a quick ratio of 3.51.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $707.42 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 8.47%.The business’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.