Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

LAZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $40.00 price target on Lazard in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th.

Lazard Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $43.67 on Friday. Lazard has a 1 year low of $38.67 and a 1 year high of $58.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.44. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.51 and a quick ratio of 3.51.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 8.47%.The business had revenue of $672.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.05%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,756.01. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $80,169,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2,763.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,405,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $68,270,000 after buying an additional 1,356,800 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,807,320 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $427,685,000 after buying an additional 1,047,869 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth about $34,305,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $24,424,000. 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.