Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo Sells 35,000 Shares

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 188,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,108,350.72. The trade was a 15.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lazard Trading Up 2.3 %

LAZ stock opened at $55.23 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LAZ shares. JMP Securities increased their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Lazard by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 12,176 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 115,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,956,000 after buying an additional 38,000 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,589,000. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $268,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Lazard by 249.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 251,571 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,952,000 after buying an additional 179,511 shares in 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.