Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 6,331 Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,331 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $98,149,000 after buying an additional 55,469 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,389 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $95,876,000 after buying an additional 90,152 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lazard by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,813,553 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $91,392,000 after acquiring an additional 15,151 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lazard by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,156,749 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $59,549,000 after acquiring an additional 92,318 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

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Lazard Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE LAZ traded down $0.80 on Thursday, reaching $45.77. The stock had a trading volume of 876,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,517. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 1.41. 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 $35.56 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.69.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard's payout ratio is 75.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research cut Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total transaction of $1,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 188,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,108,350.72. The trade was a 15.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. The trade was a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541 over the last quarter. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Lazard

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.