Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd Takes Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 32,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,647,000. Lazard makes up about 1.0% of Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $421,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 348.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 13,682 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the third quarter worth $235,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 2,053.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 25.1% during the third quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 9,768 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $49.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.83. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders 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 4.04%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on LAZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.33.

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.