Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 46,085 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,322,000.
Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter worth $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the second quarter valued at $88,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Lazard Stock Down 1.0 %
Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded down $0.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.00. 768,155 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 930,227. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $54.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.65 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.
Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $644.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Lazard's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Lazard Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.68%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Lazard from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.43.
Read 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.
Featured Stories
Before you consider Lazard, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Lazard wasn't on the list.
While Lazard currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Click the link below to learn more about how your portfolio could bloom.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.