Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank increased its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Lazard were worth $8,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. King Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at $227,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 25,944 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,046,298 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Lazard by 50.4% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 12,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 4,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 12.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $57.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.20. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.14 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LAZ shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This trade represents a 5.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.