Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $53.84 Million Stake in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,267,322 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 212,946 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $53,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in Lazard in the first quarter worth $169,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter worth $1,274,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Lazard during the first quarter worth about $794,000. Abel Hall LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth $212,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on LAZ. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research raised Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Lazard from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Lazard from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $43.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.67 and a 1-year high of $58.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.98.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $672.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.42 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 79.05%.

Lazard Company Profile

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.