Calamos Advisors LLC Takes Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 27,557 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,419,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $360,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $336,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter worth about $299,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Lazard by 32.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 26,000 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 6,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 108.6% in the third quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 43,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,202,000 after buying an additional 22,755 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ stock traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,036,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,253. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.17. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. Analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research lowered Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.33.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.