Royal Bank of Canada Sells 61,158 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada decreased its stake in Lazard, Inc. by 5.4%, now holding about 1,079,277 shares valued at approximately $46.7 million.
• Lazard reported earnings of $0.52 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $796 million, which is a 16.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.5% and a payout ratio of 68.97%.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,079,277 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 61,158 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.96% of Lazard worth $46,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 287,574 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,452,000 after acquiring an additional 25,480 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 10.0% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,089 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 5.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 358,970 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $15,543,000 after purchasing an additional 17,418 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the first quarter valued at approximately $598,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Lazard stock traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $56.73. The stock had a trading volume of 994,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 748,637. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $53.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.88.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $2,847,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,979,759.25. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael Gathy sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.37, for a total value of $34,163.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 75,617 shares of company stock worth $4,274,413. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Lazard from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, August 25th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.00.

Lazard Company 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.