Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 54.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,813 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Lazard were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, King Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Lazard during the third quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $52.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Equities analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LAZ shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.33.

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.