GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 5,409.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,287 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 24,828 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Lazard were worth $1,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Lazard by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 85.8% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $44.17. 739,533 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 978,988. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.91. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.33.

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.