Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was downgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $33.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $56.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 6.42% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LAZ. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.33.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $35.27 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.37. Lazard has a 12-month low of $33.62 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 234,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,623,437.76. The trade was a 21.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. 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.