First National Trust Co Buys 6,522 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

First National Trust Co grew its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,206 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,522 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter worth $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in Lazard by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 7,870 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Lazard by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,114 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.05. The stock had a trading volume of 462,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 832,804. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.82 and a 12-month high of $42.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.70.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $765.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.57 million. Lazard had a negative net margin of 0.63% and a positive return on equity of 37.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s payout ratio is -571.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on LAZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 target price (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. TheStreet upgraded Lazard from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $2,951,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,950,078.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lazard Company 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.