Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Acquired by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,594 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 21,615 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.06% of Lazard worth $2,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 265.0% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 791,158 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $24,740,000 after purchasing an additional 574,379 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 84.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,019,121 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $31,603,000 after purchasing an additional 466,301 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 4.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,563,521 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $296,565,000 after purchasing an additional 436,034 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth approximately $6,590,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 52.1% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 524,852 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $16,276,000 after acquiring an additional 179,708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $38.95. The company had a trading volume of 832,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,121,443. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.97 and a beta of 1.46. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.82 and a 12-month high of $42.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.96.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $765.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.57 million. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 37.27% and a negative net margin of 0.63%. Lazard's revenue was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.26) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently -571.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $2,951,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 227,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,950,078.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LAZ. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $49.00 price target (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet upgraded Lazard from a "d+" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.67.

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.