First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 566,051 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 335.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 734,962 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 566,051 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.65% of Lazard worth $37,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. now owns 65,600 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,377,000 after purchasing an additional 27,400 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,129 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth about $18,372,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,285,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total value of $2,919,744.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 234,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,623,437.76. This represents a 21.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total transaction of $1,877,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 188,448 shares in the company, valued at $10,108,350.72. This trade represents a 15.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on LAZ shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.83.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.65. 2,016,519 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 951,407. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. The firm had revenue of $669.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.69%.

Lazard 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.