Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Down 9% - What's Next?

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $44.03 and last traded at $44.54. 546,752 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 1,094,580 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.17.

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Lazard Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.78. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Lazard's payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 188,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,108,350.72. This trade represents a 15.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew 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 valued at $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Lazard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,129 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its stake in Lazard by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,981 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently 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.