Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZFree Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 30,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,274,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAZ. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 59.5% in 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 period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $41.48 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.19. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.67 and a 1 year high of $58.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 3.51.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $672.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.42 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 79.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus dropped their price target on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research raised Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Lazard

Lazard Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Lazard (NYSE:LAZ)

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