Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Given New $45.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price objective trimmed by UBS Group from $48.00 to $45.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.75.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $44.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.40. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.42. Lazard has a 1 year low of $32.04 and a 1 year high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $892.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.32 million. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 33.04%. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued 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 4.5%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 91.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,597,995.92. This represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total transaction of $155,275.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,707.73. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

About Lazard

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.