Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Position Trimmed by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 80.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,287 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 17,298 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Lazard were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Claro Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 10,306.7% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $62,259,000 after buying an additional 1,223,918 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 5,770.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $53,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,298 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth $13,560,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lazard by 10.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $113,357,000 after buying an additional 206,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,430,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.33.

Lazard Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE LAZ traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.23. 881,228 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,028,560. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. The business's fifty day moving average price is $52.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.31.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.19%.

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.