JMP Securities Lowers Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target to $55.00

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) had its price target cut by JMP Securities from $60.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market outperform rating on the asset manager's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.83.

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Lazard Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.64. 1,720,988 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 939,332. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.27. Lazard has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $46.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard's payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This represents a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $605,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Lazard by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,425 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Lazard by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $98,149,000 after purchasing an additional 55,469 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,142 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at about $296,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.