Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) PT Raised to $60.00

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.51% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.29.

Lazard Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $51.06 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -145.89 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard has a 1 year low of $25.82 and a 1 year high of $51.44.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The company had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $625.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $99,969.99. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at $86,403,427.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 429,604 shares of company stock valued at $19,873,736. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,534 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 3.3% in the second quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd now owns 18,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard by 1,125.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in 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.