Purpose Unlimited Inc. Takes $8.57 Million Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 176,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $8,574,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. owned about 0.16% of Lazard at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,722,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $90,914,000 after acquiring an additional 20,591 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Lazard by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 332,333 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,138,000 after acquiring an additional 164,168 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,120,000 after acquiring an additional 245,205 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,404,000. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 18.6% in the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 274,807 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,541,000 after purchasing an additional 43,083 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $44.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $46.83 and its 200 day moving average is $48.23. The company has a quick ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.67 and a 52-week high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 79.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

About Lazard

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.