Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target Lowered to $56.00 at Morgan Stanley

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $63.00 to $56.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on LAZ. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research cut Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.17.

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Lazard Trading Up 1.8 %

LAZ stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $45.75. The company had a trading volume of 893,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 887,616. 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 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $50.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.76.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities research 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This represents a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,723 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 17,454 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 5,170 shares during the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 133,080 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,851,000 after purchasing an additional 21,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 219,844 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,318,000 after purchasing an additional 48,956 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.