UBS Group Boosts Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target to $44.00

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

LAZ has been the subject of several other research reports. TheStreet upgraded Lazard from a d+ rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Lazard from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lazard from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded Lazard from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an outperform rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Lazard Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE LAZ opened at $41.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.16 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.21. Lazard has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $42.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $825.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $666.56 million. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 16.43% and a negative net margin of 2.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Lazard will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently -206.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total transaction of $2,951,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,950,078.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 800 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Lazard by 489.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,727 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Lazard by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.