Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Acquires New Shares in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 10,296 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $421,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its stake in Lazard by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 175,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,817,000 after buying an additional 95,000 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10,306.7% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,259,000 after buying an additional 1,223,918 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at $439,000. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth $215,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ opened at $52.23 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.31. 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 has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Equities analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently 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.