Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo Sells 35,000 Shares

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total transaction of $1,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 188,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,108,350.72. The trade was a 15.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $55.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.