AE Wealth Management LLC Has $18.54 Million Stock Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,265 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,715 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $18,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,542 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust now owns 10,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares in the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its stake in Lazard by 48.2% in the second quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 120,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,791,000 after acquiring an additional 39,263 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Lazard by 0.6% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 182,132 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lazard by 4,698.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,758 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 5,638 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Lazard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lazard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — Lazard reported $0.80 EPS vs. $0.68 expected and revenue of $892M vs. $876M consensus, with revenue up 11% year‑over‑year and a strong net margin/ROE profile. This is the immediate catalyst for the stock move. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Record full‑year Financial Advisory and Asset Management momentum — company reported record Financial Advisory adjusted net revenue ($1.8B full‑year) and record AM inflows with AUM up ~12% YoY, signaling durable fee revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained/increased cash return — board declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend (3.7% yield), supporting income investors and signaling confidence in cash flow. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management strengthening — Tracy Farr named CFO effective Feb 1, bringing 20 years of experience; a stable/experienced finance chief can reassure investors on execution and capital allocation. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Company provided conference call materials and a slide deck — useful for digging into revenue drivers, fee mix and seasonality; investors should review the presentation and transcript for details that could influence guidance or outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews and commentary highlighted key metrics to watch (advisory revenue per MD, AM flows); these previews set expectations but don’t change fundamentals until guidance or forward commentary is given. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LAZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price objective on Lazard and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.13.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $53.85 on Friday. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $58.07. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.10 and a 200-day moving average of $52.01.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 35.02%. The business had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 79.05%.

Lazard Profile

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.