UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 48,956 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,844 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 48,956 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.19% of Lazard worth $11,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,415 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Lazard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,813 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Lazard by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 207,000 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,656,000 after acquiring an additional 46,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ traded down $0.28 on Wednesday, hitting $43.40. The company had a trading volume of 147,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 968,154. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $40.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.72. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $669.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.39 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Lazard's revenue for the quarter was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total value of $2,940,396.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.