Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target Increased to $44.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Lazard from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wolfe Research raised Lazard from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. TheStreet raised Lazard from a d+ rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lazard from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Lazard Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $41.87 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.21. Lazard has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $42.24. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.16 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $825.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $666.56 million. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 16.43% and a negative net margin of 2.93%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lazard will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently -206.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $2,951,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 227,448 shares in the company, valued at $8,950,078.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 2.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 6.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,261 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,148,000 after buying an additional 2,144 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 6.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in Lazard during the first quarter worth approximately $135,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 64.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 720 shares in 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.