Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Sells $1,383,000.00 in Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE:LAZ opened at $55.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.46.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities increased their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is 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.