Insider Selling: Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Sells 64,539 Shares of Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total value of $2,940,396.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Peter Richard Orszag also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 14th, Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of Lazard stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total value of $2,919,744.36.

Lazard Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $46.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.73.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Lazard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,149,000 after buying an additional 55,469 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Lazard by 128.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 678,617 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,935,000 after buying an additional 381,546 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,772,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $89,285,000 after buying an additional 37,681 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $2,809,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $3,735,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.