Deutsche Bank AG Makes New Investment in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank acquired 26,056 Lazard shares worth approximately $1.09 million during the second quarter, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 54.8% of the company.
• Lazard’s latest quarterly results missed earnings expectations, reporting $0.12 in EPS versus a $0.34 consensus estimate, although revenue of $786.5 million exceeded forecasts and rose 1.5% year over year.
• The stock traded around $43.70, while analysts maintained a mixed outlook with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $50.38 target price. Lazard also pays a $2.00 annualized dividend, yielding about 4.6%.

Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 26,056 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $141,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Lazard during the second quarter valued at about $31,564,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $102,000. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 10.9% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 83,677 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,509,000 after buying an additional 8,225 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter worth $904,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE LAZ opened at $43.70 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $42.85 and its 200 day moving average is $45.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.67 and a twelve month high of $58.75.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Argus reduced their price objective on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lazard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.38.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $5,440,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.95% of the company's stock.

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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