Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Down 8.8% – Here’s Why

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)’s share price fell 8.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $44.72 and last traded at $44.44. 316,253 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 1,008,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.33.

Lazard Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.63 and its 200-day moving average is $51.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Lazard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,149,000 after acquiring an additional 55,469 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 2.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,772,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $89,285,000 after buying an additional 37,681 shares in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $2,809,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 348.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 13,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 5,770.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,298 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Company Profile

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.