Fmr LLC Sells 212,230 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Fmr LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,567,995 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 212,230 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 8.48% of Lazard worth $482,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at $6,733,000. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,779,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth about $934,000. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new position in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,700,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $58.05 on Friday. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.28 and a 1 year high of $61.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $53.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.83. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 1.38. 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 (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Lazard’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. The trade was a 5.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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.