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

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.83.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE:LAZ traded down $0.81 on Friday, reaching $40.58. 815,499 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 956,133. Lazard has a 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $61.14. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.25.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.39 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lazard 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, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Lazard's payout ratio is 69.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total value of $2,940,396.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth $947,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Lazard by 128.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 678,617 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,935,000 after buying an additional 381,546 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $2,809,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Lazard by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,389 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $95,876,000 after buying an additional 90,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,735,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.