The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $938,000 Position in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

06 Sep 2026, 08:25 by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets Daily

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,361 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $938,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LAZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Lazard

Lazard Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $45.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.67 and a 12-month high of $58.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.22). Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The firm had revenue of $786.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $736.29 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 98.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Profile

(Free Report)

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.