Berbice Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 900 Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 900 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at about $215,000. King Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter worth about $227,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Lazard by 2,053.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,104 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 4,867 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ opened at $53.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The firm had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Lazard’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Lazard’s payout ratio is 79.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LAZ. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.50.

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.