Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target Raised to $52.00 at UBS Group

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the asset manager's stock. UBS Group's price target points to a potential upside of 7.56% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $56.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.43.

Lazard Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE LAZ traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $48.35. 553,244 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 960,713. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -138.13 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard has a 52-week low of $25.82 and a 52-week high of $51.46.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lazard will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 383,497 shares of company stock worth $18,020,696. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

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.