Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.33.

LAZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research cut Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Lazard Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of LAZ opened at $52.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. Equities analysts forecast that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,962,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 5,770.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,298 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 31,967.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 936,676 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $46,886,000 after purchasing an additional 933,755 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,284,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $66,137,000 after purchasing an additional 638,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 335.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 734,962 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,836,000 after purchasing an additional 566,051 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.