Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Peter Richard Orszag Sells 64,539 Shares

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total transaction of $2,919,744.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 234,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,623,437.76. The trade was a 21.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Peter Richard Orszag also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 17th, Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of Lazard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84.

Lazard Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:LAZ opened at $45.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.76. Lazard, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly 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%. Analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s payout ratio is 75.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.