Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $113.36 Million Stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.00% of Lazard worth $113,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard by 1,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 58.9% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on LAZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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 increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at $82,082,569.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $4,338,134.56. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.44. 1,294,232 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 879,070. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.02. The company has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.82 and a twelve month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

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.