Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo Sells 25,000 Shares

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $55.23 on Monday. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.46. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,169 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Lazard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,129 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,981 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LAZ shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.33.

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.