LifeWealth Investments LLC Invests $456,000 in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• LifeWealth Investments LLC invested $456,000 in Lazard, acquiring 9,498 shares, reflecting growing institutional interest in the asset manager.
• Lazard reported a significant earnings beat with $0.52 EPS against expectations of $0.38, alongside a revenue increase of 16.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a yield of 4.0%, reflecting a strong dividend payout ratio of 68.97%.

LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,498 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Lazard by 2,324.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,099,179 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $264,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847,608 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 141.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,263,046 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $97,990,000 after buying an additional 1,326,370 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Lazard by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,644,323 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $71,199,000 after buying an additional 487,574 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 31.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,690,943 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $73,214,000 after purchasing an additional 406,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,772,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $49.69 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 1.37. The company's fifty day moving average is $53.69 and its 200 day moving average is $48.15.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is 68.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LAZ shares. JMP Securities set a $60.00 price target on Lazard and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CAO Michael Gathy sold 617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.37, for a total transaction of $34,163.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $2,847,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,915 shares in the company, valued at $12,979,759.25. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,092 shares of company stock valued at $6,030,986. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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