Swedbank AB raised its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 28.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 207,000 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 46,200 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.18% of Lazard worth $10,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Lazard by 12.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 3.5% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,646 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 1.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,425 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,028,000 after buying an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Lazard Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded down $0.92 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.07. The stock had a trading volume of 278,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,097. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.96. 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 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 1.41.
Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Lazard Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities increased their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.33.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on LAZ
About Lazard
(
Free Report)
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.
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