Lazard, Inc. $LAZ Shares Bought by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Lazard stake by 2,607.1% in the first quarter, acquiring 149,490 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 155,224 shares worth approximately $6.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 54.8% of Lazard.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Lazard carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $50.38; ratings include four Buys, five Holds and two Sells.
• Lazard’s latest quarterly earnings missed expectations, with EPS of $0.12 versus the $0.34 consensus, despite revenue exceeding estimates at $786.5 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, equal to a 4.6% annualized yield.

Amundi grew its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 2,607.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,224 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 149,490 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.14% of Lazard worth $6,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Lazard by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,456,726 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $119,299,000 after acquiring an additional 221,214 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,357,095 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $114,481,000 after acquiring an additional 6,429 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Lazard by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,229 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $101,153,000 after acquiring an additional 180,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,929,435 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $93,693,000 after acquiring an additional 39,901 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAZ. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lazard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lazard from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.38.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ stock opened at $43.81 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.49 and a 200-day moving average of $46.24. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.67 and a 12-month high of $58.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.43.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.29 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 6.95%.The business's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

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

Lazard Company Profile

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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