Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $3.03 Million Stake in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 29.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 71,398 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,132 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lazard were worth $3,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lazard from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Lazard from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock opened at $43.21 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.51 and a quick ratio of 3.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.97. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $38.67 and a one year high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.42 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s payout ratio is 79.05%.

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.