Royal Bank of Canada Has $18.77 Million Holdings in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 441,801 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 92,257 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Lazard were worth $18,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Lazard by 97.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 332,333 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,138,000 after acquiring an additional 164,168 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,424,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,136,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,983,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lazard by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,760,637 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $85,497,000 after purchasing an additional 38,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

Lazard Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $43.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 2.84. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.43. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.67 and a 52-week high of $58.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.17.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued 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 is Monday, August 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.04%.

Lazard Company Profile

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.