Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 64,490 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,404,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 131.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 7,144 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Lazard by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 759,867 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,902,000 after purchasing an additional 163,983 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Lazard by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,288 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,318,000 after purchasing an additional 18,444 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,244,000. Finally, Freemont Management S.A. raised its holdings in Lazard by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 102,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,932,000 after purchasing an additional 24,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Lazard in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.13.

Lazard Stock Down 3.7%

LAZ stock opened at $44.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.79. The company has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.28. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.32 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 7.49%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.74%.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.