Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 9,376 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 32.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,158 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,376 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Lazard were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 58.9% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $55.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.28. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $30.96 and a one year high of $61.14. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 79.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LAZ. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities raised their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

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.