Swedbank AB Invests $6.73 Million in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 160,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $6,733,000. Swedbank AB owned about 0.14% of Lazard as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LAZ. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Lazard by 1,165.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 176,491 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,142,000 after acquiring an additional 162,549 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 140,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after acquiring an additional 28,250 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 527,077 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,342,000 after acquiring an additional 2,225 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Lazard by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,114 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the period. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 149,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,196,000 after purchasing an additional 40,036 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LAZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $270,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,982,829 shares in the company, valued at $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,982,829 shares in the company, valued at $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 414,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,683,738 in the last three months. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ traded down $2.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.30. 870,586 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,190,623. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of -126.60 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $49.78.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. Lazard’s payout ratio is -571.41%.

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.