Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives $51.14 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.14.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,504,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at $1,126,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter worth $6,733,000. Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter worth $1,626,000. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. acquired a new position in Lazard during the first quarter worth $671,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $54.29 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -155.11 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $54.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The company had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lazard will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently -571.43%.

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.