Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $51.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating and issued a $56.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lazard from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $48.71.

Lazard Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $47.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Lazard has a 1 year low of $25.82 and a 1 year high of $50.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of -136.48 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.64.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Analysts expect that Lazard will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -571.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at $86,403,427.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 429,604 shares of company stock valued at $19,873,736. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter worth about $87,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.