EFG International AG Invests $739,000 in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

EFG International AG purchased a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 17,622 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $739,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Lazard by 53.5% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research lowered Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lazard Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $43.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 2.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.67 and a 1-year high of $58.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.16.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.22). Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The company had revenue of $786.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Lazard’s payout ratio is 98.04%.

Lazard Company 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.