Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Invests $530,000 in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,296 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Lazard by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its position in Lazard by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,646 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.33.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ stock opened at $52.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $61.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.23 and a 200 day moving average of $51.31. The company has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

About Lazard

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.