Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities raised their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Lazard Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $53.18 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.20 and a 200 day moving average of $44.63. Lazard has a 12-month low of $25.82 and a 12-month high of $54.72. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 46.55%. The company had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,082,569.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,679,058. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the 2nd 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 period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Lazard by 58.9% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth approximately $87,000. 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.