Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $59.55 Million Stock Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,156,749 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,318 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.03% of Lazard worth $59,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Lazard by 10.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Lazard by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $98,149,000 after purchasing an additional 55,469 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,389 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $95,876,000 after purchasing an additional 90,152 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,813,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $91,392,000 after purchasing an additional 15,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lazard by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,099,191 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $55,377,000 after purchasing an additional 22,425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $48.91 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.86. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The company has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 1.41. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. Research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Lazard’s payout ratio is 75.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.33.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 188,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,108,350.72. This represents a 15.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.