Azora Capital LP Makes New $13.56 Million Investment in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 269,160 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $13,560,000. Azora Capital LP owned about 0.24% of Lazard as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at $446,000. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at $270,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $226,000. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Lazard by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 209,350 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,993,000 after buying an additional 4,851 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 161.1% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,765 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,060,000 after buying an additional 17,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Stock Down 1.6 %

Lazard stock traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $57.12. The stock had a trading volume of 477,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,509. 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 market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.11 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $53.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.92.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Lazard's payout ratio is 79.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. The trade was a 5.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.