Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases New Stake in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 697,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $29,241,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.63% of Lazard as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Up 1.1%

LAZ stock opened at $43.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.67 and a fifty-two week high of $58.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.43.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.22). Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The firm had revenue of $786.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Lazard’s payout ratio is 98.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LAZ shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Argus lowered their price objective on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

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.