Capital Research Global Investors Lowers Holdings in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Capital Research Global Investors trimmed its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,235,512 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 130,799 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned 1.98% of Lazard worth $117,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teza Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 8,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co boosted its stake in Lazard by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 52,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,789,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in Lazard by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 44,214 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,007 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its stake in Lazard by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 22,583 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Trading Up 2.7%

Lazard stock opened at $44.19 on Thursday. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $58.75. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.56.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.32 million. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.13.

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.