Insider Selling: Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Chairman Sells 87,770 Shares of Stock

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,679,058. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $48.31. The stock had a trading volume of 395,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,016,119. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.21. Lazard, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $50.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -137.94 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently -571.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 19,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Lazard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,534 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Lazard by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 3.3% during the second quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd now owns 18,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.33.

About Lazard

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.