Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.25.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,195.84. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 251.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 74.7% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 95,509 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after purchasing an additional 40,846 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 59.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 554,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,247,000 after purchasing an additional 206,051 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $36.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.18 and its 200 day moving average is $43.14. Lazard has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $786.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.29 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 6.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lazard will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 98.04%.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a global financial advisory and asset management firm. The company provides advice to corporations, financial institutions, governments and other public-sector entities on strategic matters, including mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, restructuring, shareholder relations and other corporate finance transactions.

Through its asset management business, Lazard manages investment strategies for institutions, financial intermediaries and private clients across equities, fixed income, alternatives and other asset classes.