Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Given New $56.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $63.00 to $56.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 25.93% from the stock’s previous close.

LAZ has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a 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. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE:LAZ traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 482,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,144,362. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.83. 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 market cap of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 188,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,108,350.72. This trade represents a 15.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Lazard by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 17,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 5,170 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 133,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,851,000 after buying an additional 21,250 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 219,844 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,318,000 after acquiring an additional 48,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,853 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.