Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 310,195 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,939,854 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 310,195 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $99,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth approximately $421,000. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth approximately $439,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 348.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 13,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 3.5% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,646 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $54.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.52. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LAZ shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

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.