Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 44,258 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 268.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 44,258 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.05% of Lazard worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.17.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total value of $2,940,396.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Down 0.6 %

LAZ stock opened at $46.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.42 and a 200-day moving average of $51.66.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.19%.

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.