Mackenzie Financial Corp Cuts Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,031 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 25,704 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Lazard were worth $498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Lazard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,534 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 254.2% during the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 377,693 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,144,000 after acquiring an additional 271,054 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 101,200 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,522,000 after acquiring an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its position in Lazard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 204,499 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $8,562,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $405,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 285,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,818. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $51.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -140.26 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total transaction of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,936,722 shares in the company, valued at $77,836,857.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,936,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,836,857.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.