Peter Richard Orszag Sells 125,000 Shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 125,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 260,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,356,195.84. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ stock opened at $43.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.16. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.67 and a 12 month high of $58.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.22). Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The business had revenue of $786.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LAZ. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price target on Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Argus reduced their target price on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.