Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $71.88 Million Stake in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,480,268 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 108,073 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $71,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Lazard by 53.5% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In related news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total transaction of $155,275.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,829 shares in the company, valued at $465,707.73. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. This trade represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lazard Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $46.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.44. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.67 and a 1 year high of $58.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 8.47%.The company had revenue of $672.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LAZ. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.56.

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.