Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,450,000 shares, a decline of 16.9% from the March 15th total of 6,560,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 6.2% of the company's shares are short sold.

Lazard Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE LAZ traded down $1.07 on Monday, hitting $34.47. 658,111 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 939,304. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.62 and a 200 day moving average of $50.14. 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 has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. As a group, analysts expect that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Lazard's payout ratio is 75.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total transaction of $1,877,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 188,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,108,350.72. This represents a 15.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,962,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 31,967.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 936,676 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $46,886,000 after buying an additional 933,755 shares during the period. 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 worth $66,137,000 after buying an additional 638,169 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Lazard by 335.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 734,962 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $37,836,000 after acquiring an additional 566,051 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,249 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $118,294,000 after acquiring an additional 483,696 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.