Insider Selling: Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) CEO Sells 64,539 Shares of Stock

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

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 stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total value of $2,940,396.84.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ traded up $0.82 during trading on Monday, hitting $45.75. 893,407 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 887,616. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $61.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Lazard from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.17.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,723 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 17,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 5,170 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 133,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,851,000 after buying an additional 21,250 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 28.6% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 48,956 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently 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.