Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases Shares of 5,472 Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 5,472 shares of Lazard, valued at approximately $237,000, during the 1st quarter of the year.
• Research analyst target prices for Lazard show a range of expectations, with JMP Securities setting a target of $60.00 and Wells Fargo raising theirs from $38.00 to $50.00.
• Lazard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in a 3.9% dividend yield for investors.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,472 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter worth $28,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter worth $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lazard by 164.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Lazard by 119.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,028 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE LAZ traded up $0.90 on Friday, hitting $52.18. The stock had a trading volume of 272,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,118,163. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.81 and a 200-day moving average of $46.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a current ratio of 2.53. 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 $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LAZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. 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. JMP Securities set a $60.00 target price on shares of Lazard and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut 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 two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.50.

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.