Ariel Investments LLC Buys 21,065 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in Lazard, Inc. by 0.4%, bringing its total shares owned to approximately 5.6 million, making it the firm's 4th largest position.
• Lazard reported earnings of $0.52 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.38, with a revenue of $796 million, a 16.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 3.6%.

Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,619,280 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 21,065 shares during the quarter. Lazard accounts for approximately 2.9% of Ariel Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Ariel Investments LLC owned 4.98% of Lazard worth $243,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 164.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 861.2% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,057 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 12.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,259 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of Lazard stock traded down $0.43 on Friday, reaching $56.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 770,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 768,499. The company has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44 and a beta of 1.35. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $796.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $674.13 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business's revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lazard's payout ratio is currently 68.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lazard from $33.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JMP Securities set a $60.00 price target on Lazard and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.33.

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.