Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.83.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LAZ. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Lazard Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $39.58 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $41.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 1.27. Lazard has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. The company had revenue of $669.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total transaction of $2,919,744.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 234,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,623,437.76. The trade was a 21.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at $2,322,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $113,357,000 after buying an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 45,549 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after buying an additional 1,838 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,813,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

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.