Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Buys 738 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 738 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC owned 0.16% of Lazard worth $9,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lazard by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $113,357,000 after acquiring an additional 206,295 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Lazard by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $98,149,000 after purchasing an additional 55,469 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,813,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $91,392,000 after purchasing an additional 15,151 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 2.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,772,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $89,285,000 after purchasing an additional 37,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,099,191 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $55,377,000 after buying an additional 22,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $49.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.96 and its 200 day simple 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.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 75.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.33.

Lazard Company 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.