Morgan Stanley Cuts Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target to $52.00

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $59.00 to $52.00 in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Lazard from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, January 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $47.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.88.

Lazard Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $46.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.26. Lazard has a 1 year low of $32.84 and a 1 year high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 7.49%.The business had revenue of $892.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.74%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total transaction of $155,275.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $465,707.73. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at $8,597,995.92. This trade represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 131.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 7,144 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 759,867 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,902,000 after purchasing an additional 163,983 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,288 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,318,000 after purchasing an additional 18,444 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 167.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 26,097 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 16,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 62.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 7,102 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

About Lazard

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.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.