Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,133 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 943.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,963,865 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $82,227,000 after buying an additional 1,775,664 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,650,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,063,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $15,768,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 150.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 531,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,509,000 after purchasing an additional 319,384 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at $86,403,427.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,403,427.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,936,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,836,857.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock opened at $50.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -143.91 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.01. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.82 and a 12-month high of $50.78.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s payout ratio is -571.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.71.

About Lazard

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.