Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Given New $45.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $33.00 to $45.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Lazard Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $46.81 on Monday. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 3.24. The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.53 and a 200 day moving average of $46.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a return on equity of 37.64% and a net margin of 10.15%. The company had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Lazard by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

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.