Prana Capital Management LP Decreases Position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Prana Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,916 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 119,684 shares during the quarter. Prana Capital Management LP’s holdings in Lazard were worth $2,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 58.9% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $88,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ stock opened at $56.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.11 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s payout ratio is 79.68%.

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.