Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 381,546 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 128.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 678,617 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 381,546 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.60% of Lazard worth $34,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 209.0% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE LAZ traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,995,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,110,131. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.