Brokerages Set Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target at $50.38

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.3750.

LAZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 target price on Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 74.7% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 95,509 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,006,000 after buying an additional 40,846 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 59.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 554,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,247,000 after acquiring an additional 206,051 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard by 28.5% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,994 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $87,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Trading Down 5.4%

LAZ opened at $36.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Lazard has a 12 month low of $35.73 and a 12 month high of $58.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.22). Lazard had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 6.95%.The firm had revenue of $786.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 98.04%.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a global financial advisory and asset management firm. The company provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, restructuring, strategic matters and other corporate finance activities. Lazard also offers asset management services for institutions, financial intermediaries, private clients and other investors.

Lazard traces its origins to 1848, when the Lazard brothers established a business in New Orleans. The firm later expanded to San Francisco and Paris, developing an international platform that serves clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other key global markets.

The company operates through financial advisory and asset management businesses, with teams serving corporations, governments, institutions and high-net-worth individuals.