Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 24,957 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 1.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,889,534 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 24,957 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $99,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research cut Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.13.

Lazard Trading Down 1.6%

Lazard stock opened at $48.38 on Thursday. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $58.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.99 and its 200 day moving average is $51.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.32 million. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 91.74%.

About Lazard

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.