Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Purchases 2,169 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,113 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its stake in Lazard by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,981 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc increased its stake in Lazard by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 27,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Lazard by 12.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 1.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $48.70 on Tuesday. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 1.41. 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 (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.33.

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.