Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 728 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $2,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 9,582 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 1,997 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $13,560,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in Lazard by 2.2% during the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 411,655 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,739,000 after purchasing an additional 8,702 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its position in Lazard by 117.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 101,503 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,114,000 after purchasing an additional 54,903 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at $605,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ stock opened at $53.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $33.65 and a one year high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

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.