Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Holdings in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 350.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,652 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,507 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lazard were worth $3,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 9.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 287,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,452,000 after purchasing an additional 25,480 shares during the last quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 44.4% in the second quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust now owns 10,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 5.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 358,970 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,543,000 after purchasing an additional 17,418 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter worth approximately $598,000. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 48.2% in the second quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 120,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,791,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $50.09 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.74 and its 200 day moving average is $49.74. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $60.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a current ratio of 2.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 35.02% and a net margin of 8.89%.The business had revenue of $782.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut Lazard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Lazard in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price target on shares of Lazard and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $1,756,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,274 shares in the company, valued at $9,913,290.66. This represents a 15.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $2,847,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,979,759.25. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 108,092 shares of company stock valued at $6,030,986 over the last 90 days. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.