Xponance Inc. Has $720,000 Holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,987 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 31,967.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 936,676 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $46,886,000 after buying an additional 933,755 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Lazard by 128.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 678,617 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,935,000 after acquiring an additional 381,546 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,560,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $47.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.66. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. As a group, research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAZ has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Company 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.