Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target Cut to $40.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $41.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.96% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 price target on Lazard in a report on Thursday. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $38.00 price target on Lazard in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE LAZ traded down $0.25 on Friday, hitting $37.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,043,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,660,911. Lazard has a 52-week low of $34.13 and a 52-week high of $58.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 2.84. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.46 and a 200-day moving average of $42.97.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $844.23 million. Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lazard will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,195.84. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $87,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Lazard

Here are the key news stories impacting Lazard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lazard declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, payable November 13 to shareholders of record November 2. The $2.00 annualized payout represents an indicated yield of approximately 5.3%, supporting the stock’s income appeal. Lazard Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 per Share
• Positive Sentiment: Management said forward indicators are “really positive,” while Lazard expects its Campbell Lutyens business to generate approximately $500 million of revenue in 2027 after the planned early-November closing of the transaction. This could provide a meaningful growth driver for the Financial Advisory and asset-management businesses. Lazard plans to close Campbell Lutyens
• Neutral Sentiment: Lazard is changing two key leadership roles, a move investors may view as part of Chief Executive Officer Peter Orszag’s effort to reshape the firm and improve execution. The near-term impact on earnings remains uncertain. Lazard leadership changes
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted revenue was $805 million, below the approximately $844 million analyst consensus, while adjusted EPS of $0.36 missed estimates of roughly $0.42 and declined from $0.56 a year earlier. Profit weakness and fewer deal pull-forwards are the main reasons the stock has decreased. Lazard Reports Third Quarter and Nine Month 2026 Results

About Lazard

Lazard, Ltd. is a global financial advisory and asset management firm that serves corporations, financial institutions, governments, sovereign entities and individuals. Its Financial Advisory business provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, capital structure, restructuring, capital raising and other complex financial transactions.

Through its Asset Management business, Lazard offers investment strategies across equities, fixed income, private markets, alternatives and multi-asset portfolios.