Royce & Associates LP Grows Stock Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its Lazard stake by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 896,328 shares worth about $43.5 million.
• Lazard reported Q1 earnings of $0.42 per share, missing analyst estimates of $0.52, while revenue came in at $672.98 million versus expectations of $707.42 million.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equal to a 4.2% annualized yield, even as insiders and some analysts have turned more cautious on the stock.

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 896,328 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 51,191 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.79% of Lazard worth $43,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lazard by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $590,120,000 after acquiring an additional 245,205 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Lazard by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,229 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $101,153,000 after acquiring an additional 180,244 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,884,093 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $99,442,000 after buying an additional 192,008 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lazard by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,760,637 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $85,497,000 after buying an additional 38,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Lazard by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,620,282 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $85,522,000 after buying an additional 101,763 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $48.09 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $44.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 3.51. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $38.67 and a one year high of $58.75. The firm has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.44.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 8.47%.The firm had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at $8,597,995.92. This trade represents a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total value of $318,317.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $636,756.01. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LAZ shares. Wall Street Zen cut Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Lazard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus lowered their price objective on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.56.

Lazard Company 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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