New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 10,486 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 276,140 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,486 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lazard were worth $14,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Lazard by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $98,149,000 after buying an additional 55,469 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 2.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,772,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $89,285,000 after acquiring an additional 37,681 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in Lazard in the fourth quarter worth about $2,809,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 348.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 13,682 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 5,770.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,298 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $49.46 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.96 and its 200-day moving average is $51.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LAZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.33.

About Lazard

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.