Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Rating Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

LAZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE:LAZ opened at $38.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.47. Lazard has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $58.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.31.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.06). Lazard had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 5.55%. The business had revenue of $804.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $844.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,195.84. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 229.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 847 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard in the third quarter valued at approximately $272,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in Lazard by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 7,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 30,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 12,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Ltd. is a global financial advisory and asset management firm that serves corporations, financial institutions, governments, sovereign entities and individuals. Its Financial Advisory business provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, capital structure, restructuring, capital raising and other complex financial transactions.

Through its Asset Management business, Lazard offers investment strategies across equities, fixed income, private markets, alternatives and multi-asset portfolios.