Insider Selling: Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Sells $318,317.45 in Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total transaction of $318,317.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $636,756.01. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Christopher Hogbin also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 19th, Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of Lazard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total value of $155,275.28.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $39.22 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.73. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $58.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LAZ. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.75.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Teza Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 8,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Lesa Sroufe & Co raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 52,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,789,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance LLC grew its position in Lazard by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.