Morgan Stanley Increases Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target to $60.00

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.59% from the stock’s previous close.

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

Lazard Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Lazard stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $50.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 151,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 990,258. Lazard has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $51.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -143.74 and a beta of 1.39.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lazard will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth about $47,063,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $354,000. Commerce Bank acquired a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $493,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $383,000. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

About Lazard

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.