BlackRock Inc. Purchases Shares of 9,038,924 Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 9.04 million Lazard shares during the second quarter, worth approximately $379.1 million and representing an 8.18% stake.
• Several other institutions also increased their Lazard holdings, bringing total institutional ownership to 54.8% of the company.
• Lazard’s latest quarterly results were mixed: revenue rose 1.5% year over year to $786.5 million and topped estimates, but earnings per share of $0.12 missed the $0.34 consensus. The company maintains a $2.00 annualized dividend, yielding about 4.6%.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,038,924 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $379,092,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 8.18% of Lazard as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,169,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Lazard by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,807,320 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $427,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047,869 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,564,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,305,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $24,424,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $43.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.84. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $38.67 and a one year high of $58.75. The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.34.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $786.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.29 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 6.95%.The company's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Lazard's payout ratio is currently 98.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.38.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. NYSE: LAZ is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.

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