O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. Grows Stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 211,046 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Lazard accounts for 3.4% of O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $10,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 12.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in Lazard by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,646 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 1.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Lazard by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE:LAZ opened at $51.06 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s payout ratio is 79.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.50.

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.