JMP Securities Increases Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target to $60.00

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by JMP Securities from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the asset manager's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on LAZ. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lazard from $46.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Lazard from $33.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Lazard Trading Up 2.6%

Lazard stock traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $53.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,045,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,810. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $45.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.06. Lazard has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $61.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 37.64%. The business had revenue of $669.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is 69.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Lazard by 2,324.4% during 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 buying an additional 5,847,608 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Lazard by 141.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,263,046 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $97,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326,370 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth $59,962,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,284,711 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $66,137,000 after purchasing an additional 638,169 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 335.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 734,962 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $37,836,000 after purchasing an additional 566,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

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.