Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 245,205 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 245,205 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Lazard worth $590,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAZ. Amica Retiree Medical Trust lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust now owns 10,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares during the period. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 48.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 120,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,791,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,920,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,210,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,744,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Lazard from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.13.

Lazard Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE LAZ opened at $50.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.03. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $58.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 7.49%.The firm had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.74%.

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.