Lazard, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the asset manager on Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th.

Lazard has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.1% per year over the last three years. Lazard has a dividend payout ratio of 49.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lazard to earn $4.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.7%.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock traded up $5.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $48.48. 2,275,039 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,126. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $48.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -134.17 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.42.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.08. Lazard had a negative net margin of 0.63% and a positive return on equity of 37.27%. The business had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at $78,235,326.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,982,829 shares in the company, valued at $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 414,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,683,738 over the last quarter. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.33.

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.