Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $71.88 Million Stock Holdings in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its Lazard stake by 6.8% in Q4, but still held 1.48 million shares valued at about $71.9 million.
• Lazard reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.42 versus the $0.52 estimate and revenue of $672.98 million versus $707.42 million expected, though revenue still rose 16.8% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, implying an annualized yield of 4.3%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $52.56 price target.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,480,268 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 108,073 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.31% of Lazard worth $71,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 60,317 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,929,000 after buying an additional 4,986 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,856,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 46,275 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,247,000 after acquiring an additional 6,315 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 11,983 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 24,687 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $46.49 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.67 and a 12-month high of $58.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.44.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $672.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.42 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 8.47%.The company's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total value of $155,275.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,829 shares in the company, valued at $465,707.73. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. 0.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LAZ. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Lazard from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.56.

About Lazard

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LAZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.