Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Sells $1,877,400.00 in Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 188,448 shares in the company, valued at $10,108,350.72. This trade represents a 15.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Lazard Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded down $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.97. 186,821 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 985,422. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10,306.7% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $62,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,918 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,962,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 5,770.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $53,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,298 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 31,967.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 936,676 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $46,886,000 after acquiring an additional 933,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,284,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $66,137,000 after buying an additional 638,169 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.33.

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.