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

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 188,448 shares in the company, valued at $10,108,350.72. This trade represents a 15.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Lazard Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $55.23 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $61.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.44. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. As a group, research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LAZ shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.33.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 54.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.