Insider Selling: Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Sells 50,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Evan Russo, CEO of Lazard, sold 50,000 shares at an average price of $56.95, totaling approximately $2.85 million, reducing his ownership by 17.99%.
• Lazard recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.52 EPS, significantly beating estimates, with revenues of $796 million, up 16.2% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.5% and a payout ratio of 68.97%.

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) CEO Evan Russo sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $2,847,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 227,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,979,759.25. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of Lazard stock traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $56.73. 994,853 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 748,637. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 1.35. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $796.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.13 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Lazard's payout ratio is 68.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAZ. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JMP Securities set a $60.00 target price on Lazard and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Lazard from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, August 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Lazard by 2,324.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,099,179 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $264,096,000 after acquiring an additional 5,847,608 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 2.4% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,753,997 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $276,077,000 after purchasing an additional 134,717 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 141.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,263,046 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $97,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,370 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 9.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,229 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $101,153,000 after purchasing an additional 180,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Lazard by 31.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,690,943 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $73,214,000 after purchasing an additional 406,232 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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