Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Acquires New Stake in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 50,674 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,153,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LAZ. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Lazard by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,807,320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $427,685,000 after buying an additional 1,047,869 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Lazard by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,456,726 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $119,299,000 after acquiring an additional 221,214 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,357,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $114,481,000 after acquiring an additional 6,429 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Lazard by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $101,153,000 after acquiring an additional 180,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,929,435 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $93,693,000 after purchasing an additional 39,901 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Down 3.1%

LAZ stock opened at $42.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 2.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.69. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $38.67 and a one year high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $786.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.29 million. Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus dropped their price target on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 target price on Lazard in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.38.

About Lazard

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.