Natixis Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 872 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $1,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock opened at $59.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.30 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.25.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This trade represents a 5.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

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.