Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to Underweight

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $33.00 target price on the asset manager's stock, down from their previous target price of $56.00. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential downside of 4.73% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on LAZ. UBS Group raised their price objective on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.83.

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Lazard Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of LAZ traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $34.64. 1,720,988 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 939,332. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $46.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.27. Lazard has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,758,184.60. This represents a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Lazard by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,169 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,347,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lazard by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of 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. raised its holdings in Lazard by 1.8% in 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 period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

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.