Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Hold — 11 analysts cover Lazard with a consensus "Hold" (3 sell, 5 hold, 3 buy) and an average 12‑month price target of $52.50.
• Significant insider selling: CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares at an average $40.76 (a 24.69% drop in his stake) and insiders sold 80,999 shares worth ~$3.29M over the last quarter; insiders now own 3.86% of the company.
• Recent results and payout: Lazard beat estimates with $0.80 EPS (vs. $0.68) and $892.1M revenue (up 11% year‑over‑year), and it pays a $0.50 quarterly dividend (4.1% yield) with a 91.7% payout ratio.

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.50.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LAZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Lazard from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, April 10th.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. This trade represents a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total transaction of $155,275.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,829 shares in the company, valued at $465,707.73. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $590,120,000 after purchasing an additional 245,205 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Lazard by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,807,320 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $427,685,000 after buying an additional 1,047,869 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Lazard by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,456,726 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $119,299,000 after buying an additional 221,214 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,357,095 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $114,481,000 after buying an additional 6,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Lazard by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,229 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $101,153,000 after buying an additional 180,244 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $48.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.36 and a 200 day moving average of $49.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.28. Lazard has a one year low of $33.45 and a one year high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The business had revenue of $892.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Lazard's payout ratio is 91.74%.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. NYSE: LAZ is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.

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