Lazard, Inc. $LAZ Stock: Royce & Associates LP Boosts Position

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,008,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,348 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.92% of Lazard worth $36,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,198,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $79,640,000 after buying an additional 49,802 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Lazard by 43.9% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 239,490 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,677,000 after buying an additional 73,018 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Lazard by 26.0% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 26,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 5,431 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 8.3% in the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 84,889 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,076,000 after acquiring an additional 6,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Down 1.2%

LAZ stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,076,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,712,562. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $58.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.68.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.06). Lazard had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The business had revenue of $804.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $844.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 121.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Capital One Financial set a $38.00 price objective on Lazard in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard is a global financial advisory and asset management firm. Its Financial Advisory business provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, restructuring and other strategic matters to companies, governments and investors. Through its Asset Management business, Lazard offers investment strategies and portfolio management services to institutions, financial intermediaries and individual clients. Its strategies span multiple asset classes and investment approaches. Founded in 1848, Lazard traces its origins to a business established by the Lazard brothers in New Orleans.