Citigroup Inc. Sells 9,633 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Citigroup Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 358,218 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,633 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Lazard worth $18,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teza Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 2.4% during the second quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 8,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Lesa Sroufe & Co grew its holdings in Lazard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 52,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,789,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 44,214 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Lazard by 1.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,007 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 3.6% in the third quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 12,340 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $52.94 on Friday. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $58.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 7.49%.The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LAZ. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.13.

Lazard 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.