Key Points
- Lazard CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 125,000 shares for approximately $5.44 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing his direct ownership by 32.39% to 260,942 shares.
- Lazard’s latest quarterly results were mixed: revenue rose 1.5% year over year to $786.47 million, but adjusted EPS of $0.12 missed estimates of $0.34.
- The stock opened at $42.84, while analysts’ consensus rating remained “Hold” with an average price target of $50.38; Lazard also offers a $2.00 annualized dividend yielding about 4.7%.
Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 125,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Lazard Trading Down 2.2%
Shares of LAZ opened at $42.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.26. Lazard, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.67 and a twelve month high of $58.75.
Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $786.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $736.29 million. Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. Lazard's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.
Lazard Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Lazard's payout ratio is currently 98.04%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LAZ. Argus cut their price objective on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.38.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Lazard
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 332,333 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $16,138,000 after acquiring an additional 164,168 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at $24,424,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,431,358 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $60,806,000 after purchasing an additional 48,607 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth about $1,983,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Lazard by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,760,637 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $85,497,000 after purchasing an additional 38,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.
Lazard Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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