Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $47.30, but opened at $43.88. Lazard shares last traded at $44.8760, with a volume of 449,734 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus lowered their target price on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.56.

Lazard Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.51 and a quick ratio of 3.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.54.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.42 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 79.05%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total transaction of $318,317.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,756.01. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962. 0.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,722,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $90,914,000 after purchasing an additional 20,591 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 332,333 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,138,000 after purchasing an additional 164,168 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth $4,744,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $590,120,000 after purchasing an additional 245,205 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth $3,404,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.