Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 77,974 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 481,406 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 77,974 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.43% of Lazard worth $18,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,504,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth about $1,126,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth about $6,733,000. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth about $671,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 169.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 262,003 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,970,000 after acquiring an additional 164,591 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LAZ traded up $0.71 on Friday, reaching $49.09. 285,655 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,818. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -140.23 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $51.46.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently -571.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.29.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.