Rep. J. French Hill Sells Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares

Key Points

• Representative J. French Hill sold shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE: LAZ) worth between $50,001 and $100,000 on June 23rd, as disclosed in a filing on July 24th.
• Lazard reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.14, alongside a revenue of $796 million, surpassing expectations of $674.13 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized dividend of $2.00 with a yield of 3.65%, payable on August 15th.

Representative J. French Hill (R-Arkansas) recently sold shares of Lazard, Inc. NYSE: LAZ. In a filing disclosed on July 24th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $50,001 and $100,000 in Lazard stock on June 23rd. The trade occurred in the Representative's "J FRENCH HILL - IRA" account.

Representative J. French Hill also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $50,001 - $100,000 in shares of Loews NYSE: L on 6/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Fortrea NASDAQ: FTRE on 6/23/2025.
• Purchased $50,001 - $100,000 in shares of Markel Group NYSE: MKL on 6/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Vitesse Energy NYSE: VTS on 6/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of AT&T NYSE: T on 6/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Spectrum Brands NYSE: SPB on 6/23/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Markel Group NYSE: MKL on 6/23/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Wells Fargo & Company NYSE: WFC on 6/23/2025.
• Sold $100,001 - $250,000 in shares of Blackstone NYSE: BX on 6/23/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Regions Financial NYSE: RF on 6/23/2025.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE LAZ traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $52.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,489,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,694. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.68 and a 200-day moving average of $46.37. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 1.33. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $796.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $674.13 million. Lazard had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JMP Securities set a $60.00 target price on shares of Lazard and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.50.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lazard by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,788,512 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $555,393,000 after acquiring an additional 81,559 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Lazard by 2,324.4% during the first 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 grew its position in shares of Lazard by 0.4% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,619,280 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $243,315,000 after acquiring an additional 21,065 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Lazard by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,429,776 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $228,045,000 after acquiring an additional 240,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,249 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $118,294,000 after purchasing an additional 483,696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

About Representative Hill

French Hill (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Arkansas' 2nd Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2015. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Hill (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Arkansas' 2nd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Hill is the founder and chairman of Delta Trust & Bank. He has served as senior policy advisor to President George H.W. Bush, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and senior advisor to Governor Mike Huckabee.

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.