Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Lazard Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $55.23 on Friday. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. Research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10,306.7% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,918 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,962,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 5,770.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,298 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 31,967.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 936,676 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $46,886,000 after acquiring an additional 933,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 335.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 734,962 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,836,000 after acquiring an additional 566,051 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.33.

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.