Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Bought by HHM Wealth Advisors LLC

HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 209.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,267 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lazard were worth $65,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 207,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,656,000 after purchasing an additional 46,200 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 89,486 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,607,000 after purchasing an additional 16,121 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Lazard by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,813 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Down 2.5 %

LAZ stock opened at $53.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $61.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 3.9 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LAZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research cut Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.33.

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.