Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $59.00 to $65.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Lazard traded as high as $54.72 and last traded at $54.72, with a volume of 530 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.99.

LAZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the first quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth about $87,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.30 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.00 and a 200-day moving average of $44.21.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is 129.03%.

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.