Numerai GP LLC Sells 3,884 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Numerai GP LLC decreased its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 35.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,144 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,884 shares during the quarter. Numerai GP LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth $947,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Lazard by 128.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 678,617 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,935,000 after acquiring an additional 381,546 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $2,809,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,389 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $95,876,000 after acquiring an additional 90,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth about $3,735,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $46.27 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.96 and its 200 day moving average is $48.77. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $61.14. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.28.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.39 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. The business’s revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Lazard’s payout ratio is 69.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LAZ shares. Morgan Stanley cut Lazard from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total value of $2,940,396.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This represents a 27.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

About Lazard

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.