Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Acquired by Impact Partnership Wealth LLC

Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 78.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. King Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth $227,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the third quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Lazard by 2,053.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,104 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 4,867 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LAZ. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price 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, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.50.

Lazard Trading Down 1.9 %

Lazard stock opened at $53.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.33. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 79.68%.

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.