Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Lowers Stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 32.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,158 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,376 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Lazard were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LAZ shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Lazard Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:LAZ opened at $55.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.28. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.96 and a 1-year 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) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s payout ratio 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.