Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Acquired by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Lazard, Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter, holding nearly 24,000 shares valued at over $1 million.
• Lazard reported earnings of $0.52 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.38 and showing a 16.2% revenue growth year-on-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.9%.

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 37.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,937 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 6,483 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Lazard were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,429,776 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $228,045,000 after acquiring an additional 240,938 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,249 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $118,294,000 after buying an additional 483,696 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 42.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,644,323 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $71,199,000 after buying an additional 487,574 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,284,711 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $66,137,000 after buying an additional 638,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Lazard by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,140,435 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $58,710,000 after buying an additional 221,783 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Lazard stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $51.81. 1,093,183 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,036,171. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.50.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $796.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.13 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lazard from $33.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JMP Securities set a $60.00 target price on Lazard and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.50.

About Lazard

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.