XTX Topco Ltd Makes New $1.40 Million Investment in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 27,777 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LAZ. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the third quarter worth approximately $5,634,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,149,000 after buying an additional 55,469 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 38,160 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Lazard in the third quarter valued at $8,430,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Lazard by 1.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $56.72 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.99 and a 12 month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The business had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

About Lazard

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.