Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives $45.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on LAZ. UBS Group raised their price target on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price target (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lazard from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE:LAZ opened at $41.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of -118.40 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.92.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.08. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 37.27% and a negative net margin of 0.63%. The company had revenue of $765.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently -571.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 154,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $6,197,607.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,989,591 shares in the company, valued at $80,001,454.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $270,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,982,829 shares in the company, valued at $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 154,131 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $6,197,607.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,989,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,001,454.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 207,000 shares of company stock worth $8,321,128 over the last three months. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Lazard by 188.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 69,325 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,150,000 after buying an additional 45,300 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,538,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in Lazard by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 87,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,720,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lazard by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,519,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $326,219,000 after buying an additional 42,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sweet Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by 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.