Capital Research Global Investors Grows Stock Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,429,776 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 240,938 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 3.93% of Lazard worth $228,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,962,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Lazard by 31,967.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 936,676 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $46,886,000 after acquiring an additional 933,755 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lazard by 335.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 734,962 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $37,836,000 after acquiring an additional 566,051 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,249 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $118,294,000 after purchasing an additional 483,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,611,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $35.47 on Friday. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $61.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard's payout ratio is 75.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their price target on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.83.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total value of $2,919,744.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 234,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,623,437.76. This trade represents a 21.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541 in the last three months. 2.26% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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