Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Price Down 4% – Here’s What Happened

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LAZ. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research cut Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $57.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.29.

Lazard Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.44 and a 200-day moving average of $49.06. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Lazard by 1,125.0% during the 2nd 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 shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at $87,000. LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth $211,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.