EFG International AG Purchases Shares of 17,622 Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 17,622 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $739,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LAZ. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 125,000 shares of Lazard 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Four equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.38.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $43.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.16. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.67 and a twelve month high of $58.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $786.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $736.29 million. Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

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

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.