Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Price Down 4% – Should You Sell?

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) dropped 4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $48.52 and last traded at $48.72. Approximately 482,135 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 538,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Lazard Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.15.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 1,125.0% during 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. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $87,000. LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter worth approximately $88,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.