Insider Selling: Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Chairman Sells 87,770 Shares of Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,679,058. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Lazard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of LAZ traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $48.31. The company had a trading volume of 395,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,016,119. Lazard, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.82 and a 52 week high of $50.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.21. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -137.94 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently -571.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Lazard by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter worth $87,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LAZ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.33.

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.