Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Makes New $935,000 Investment in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 17,710 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $935,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amica Retiree Medical Trust boosted its stake in Lazard by 44.4% in the second quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust now owns 10,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,356 shares in the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 48.2% in the second quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 120,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,791,000 after buying an additional 39,263 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $2,920,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $1,210,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,744,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $52.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.58. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.85 and a 200-day moving average of $52.06. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The business had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LAZ shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 target price on shares of Lazard and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.