Penn Capital Management Company LLC Sells 12,941 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Penn Capital Management Company LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 261,866 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 12,941 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $12,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Lazard by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 896,328 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $43,526,000 after purchasing an additional 51,191 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,760,637 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $85,497,000 after purchasing an additional 38,133 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $1,409,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $1,983,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 1,140.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LAZ. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.56.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ stock opened at $48.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.04 and a 200-day moving average of $48.67. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.67 and a 12 month high of $58.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.44.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The firm had revenue of $672.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total value of $318,317.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,597,995.92. This trade represents a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962 over the last 90 days. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lazard Profile

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.