Vestcor Inc Makes New Investment in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has acquired a new position in Lazard, Inc., purchasing 7,135 shares valued at approximately $309,000 during the first quarter.
• Lazard's recent quarterly earnings report showed an **EPS of $0.52**, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues at **$796 million**, representing a **16.2%** increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.50**, equating to an annualized yield of **3.8%**, to be paid on **August 15th** to stockholders of record on **August 4th**.

Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,135 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Lazard by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,429,776 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $228,045,000 after purchasing an additional 240,938 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,249 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $118,294,000 after acquiring an additional 483,696 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 42.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,644,323 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $71,199,000 after acquiring an additional 487,574 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,284,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $66,137,000 after acquiring an additional 638,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,140,435 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $58,710,000 after acquiring an additional 221,783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on LAZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Lazard from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JMP Securities set a $60.00 price objective on Lazard and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lazard from $33.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Lazard Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Lazard stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $51.72. The stock had a trading volume of 608,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,755. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 1.35. 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 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $61.14.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.97%.

Lazard 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.