Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Price Down 4.8%

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) shares dropped 4.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $44.11 and last traded at $44.33. Approximately 247,947 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,004,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.71.

Lazard Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -136.20 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.55.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The company 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%. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -571.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,936,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,836,857.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,936,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,836,857.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 429,604 shares of company stock valued at $19,873,736 over the last ninety days. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.