Empirical Asset Management LLC Invests $3.81 Million in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 74,077 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,813,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Lazard at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. King Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at $235,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Lazard from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $51.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.50.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE:LAZ traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.06. 890,800 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,044,000. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34 and a beta of 1.40. The company's 50 day moving average price is $53.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.97.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard's payout ratio is 79.68%.

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.