Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo Sells 25,000 Shares

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ stock traded down $0.28 on Tuesday, hitting $54.97. 186,821 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 985,422. 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 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.03 and a 200 day moving average of $51.52.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LAZ. UBS Group upped their target price on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities upped their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Creative Planning bought a new position in Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $421,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its position in Lazard by 118.8% in the third quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 175,000 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $8,817,000 after purchasing an additional 95,000 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in Lazard by 10,306.7% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $62,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,918 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $439,000. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $215,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by 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.