Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $54.79 Million Stock Holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,064,195 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 34,996 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.94% of Lazard worth $54,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 2,053.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,104 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 4,867 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Lazard by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 12,460 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 4,178 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 5,770.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $53,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Lazard by 3.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 25,944 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

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Lazard Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:LAZ traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $45.75. The company had a trading volume of 893,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 887,616. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $50.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

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