Fisher Asset Management LLC Purchases 90,152 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,862,389 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 90,152 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.65% of Lazard worth $95,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Lazard by 209.0% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

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Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $48.52. 1,644,720 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,066,296. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The company's 50-day moving average price is $51.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.89. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard's payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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