Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Earns "Market Outperform" Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 target price on the asset manager's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.83.

Lazard Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of LAZ stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.58. 827,745 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 952,454. Lazard has a 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company's 50-day moving average price is $42.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.49.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.39 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Lazard's payout ratio is 69.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,558 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 57,801 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,479 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth $771,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 71,906 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,861 shares in the last quarter. 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.