Christopher Hogbin Sells 7,885 Shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total value of $318,317.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $636,756.01. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

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 Down 0.1%

Shares of LAZ stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,375,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,696,399. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month 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’s 50-day moving average is $50.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 7.49%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 91.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LAZ. Zacks Research raised shares of Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Company Profile

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.