Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Sells $1,877,400.00 in Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $10,108,350.72. This represents a 15.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ stock opened at $55.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.46. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

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.