Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Makes New $2.15 Million Investment in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners acquired 50,674 Lazard shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $2.15 million. Hedge funds and other institutional investors collectively own 54.8% of Lazard’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a broadly cautious outlook, with Lazard receiving a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $50.38, despite Argus maintaining a “Buy” rating.
• Lazard’s latest quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, reporting $0.12 in EPS versus the $0.34 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year to $786.02 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing a 4.7% yield.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 50,674 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,153,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $80,169,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 2,763.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,405,899 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $68,270,000 after buying an additional 1,356,800 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Lazard by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,807,320 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $427,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047,869 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $34,305,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,424,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LAZ. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price objective on Lazard in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lazard from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.38.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ opened at $42.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.43. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.67 and a 52-week high of $58.75. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $44.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.69.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.22). Lazard had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 6.95%.The company had revenue of $786.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $736.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Lazard's payout ratio is presently 98.04%.

Lazard 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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