Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 872 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Lazard by 10.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the first quarter valued at about $65,650,000. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10,306.7% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,259,000 after buying an additional 1,223,918 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 5,770.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 651,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,875,000 after acquiring an additional 44,151 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $59.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $61.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.25. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,679,058. This represents a 5.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LAZ shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Lazard Profile

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.