Royce & Associates LP Cuts Stock Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 845,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 65,037 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Lazard were worth $44,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lazard by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 8,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co grew its position in shares of Lazard by 0.4% in the third quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 52,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,789,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 0.6% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 44,214 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 1.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,007 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 12,340 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $50.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.02. The stock has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 91.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LAZ shares. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America started coverage on Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.13.

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.