Lazard, Inc. $LAZ Position Cut by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,588,341 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 190,037 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $83,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 131.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 7,144 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 27.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 759,867 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,902,000 after buying an additional 163,983 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 8.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,288 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,318,000 after buying an additional 18,444 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,542 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Lazard by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 25,191 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $53.78 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.58. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $58.07.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The business had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LAZ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 target price on shares of Lazard and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.13.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.