First Trust Advisors LP Has $9.46 Million Stake in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 59.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 222,747 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 321,879 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.20% of Lazard worth $9,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Lazard by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 332,333 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $16,138,000 after purchasing an additional 164,168 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $24,424,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,136,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,983,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,760,637 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $85,497,000 after buying an additional 38,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $42.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.47. Lazard, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.67 and a 1 year high of $58.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 3.51.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $786.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $736.29 million. Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on LAZ shares. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.38.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.