Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Acquired by Capital Research Global Investors

Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,429,776 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 240,938 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned 3.93% of Lazard worth $228,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LAZ. JMP Securities cut their price objective on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley cut Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.86. 848,208 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 948,328. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.27. 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 50-day moving average price is $43.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.80.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.09). Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. Lazard's payout ratio is 75.19%.

Lazard 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.