Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)’s share price was down 4.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $51.75 and last traded at $52.1650. Approximately 113,650 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,019,000 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered Lazard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price objective on Lazard and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Lazard Stock Down 7.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 35.02% and a net margin of 8.89%.The firm had revenue of $770.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $1,756,572.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,913,290.66. This trade represents a 15.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael Gathy sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.37, for a total transaction of $34,163.29. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,092 shares of company stock worth $6,030,986. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Lazard by 53.5% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.