Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.33.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LAZ shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.95. 961,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,008,132. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $61.14. The stock 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 quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Lazard's payout ratio is 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Lazard by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,169 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Lazard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,129 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,981 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

About Lazard

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.