Ranger Investment Management L.P. Purchases 153,150 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Ranger Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 505,385 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 153,150 shares during the period. Lazard comprises about 1.7% of Ranger Investment Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Ranger Investment Management L.P. owned 0.45% of Lazard worth $24,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 170.8% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Lazard by 72.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,007 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $50.70 on Friday. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $58.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.79 and a 200 day moving average of $50.86.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $770.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.91 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 35.02% and a net margin of 8.89%.The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.05%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $1,756,572.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,913,290.66. This trade represents a 15.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on LAZ shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Lazard from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price objective on Lazard and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

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.