Analysts Set Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) PT at $51.14

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.14.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LAZ. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 176,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,658,086. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $53.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of -152.60 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.54. Lazard has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $54.72.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The business had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -571.43%.

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.