Wellington Management Group LLP Invests $417,000 in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,636 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $417,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 2.7% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 711,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,829,000 after buying an additional 18,392 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 89.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 84,315 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,651,000 after buying an additional 39,926 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth $423,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 1.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 91,033 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,942,000 after buying an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth $10,998,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $57.15 on Tuesday. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.35.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.14. Lazard had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.96%.The company had revenue of $796.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.13 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Lazard from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Lazard from $33.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.33.

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.