Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Sets New 12-Month High at $51.44

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $51.44 and last traded at $51.41, with a volume of 49058 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.29.

Lazard Stock Up 0.2 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of -144.09 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.30.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $685.30 million for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -571.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,936,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,836,857.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total transaction of $1,853,040.33. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,936,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,836,857.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,679,058. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its position in Lazard by 127.0% during the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 231,452 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,837,000 after purchasing an additional 129,490 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $955,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth $336,000. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,585 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Lazard in the second quarter valued at $806,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.