Morgan Stanley Cuts Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target to $56.00

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $63.00 to $56.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on LAZ. UBS Group increased their target price on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $44.98 on Thursday. 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 $50.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.76. Lazard has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. This represents a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Lazard by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 17,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 5,170 shares during the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 133,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,851,000 after purchasing an additional 21,250 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 219,844 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,318,000 after purchasing an additional 48,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,853 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.