Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Sells $2,819,369.20 in Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,597,995.92. This represents a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Lazard Stock Down 1.6%

LAZ stock traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.86. 1,324,351 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,309,845. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.28. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $58.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The company had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 1.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,722,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $90,914,000 after purchasing an additional 20,591 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,744,000. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,920,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,210,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,404,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Lazard from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Lazard from $59.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.75.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.