Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,772,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,681 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 1.57% of Lazard worth $89,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 192.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,314 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 6,132 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth $259,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $65,650,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,504,000. Finally, Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the first quarter valued at about $446,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,679,058. This trade represents a 5.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE LAZ opened at $59.70 on Tuesday. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.30 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.25. The stock has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

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.