TD Asset Management Inc Reduces Stock Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

TD Asset Management Inc trimmed its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,210 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,922 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.15% of Lazard worth $9,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Lazard in the third quarter worth about $37,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth $50,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth about $83,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LAZ shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.13.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $50.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $58.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 7.49%.The business had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.74%.

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.