546,216 Shares in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ Acquired by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 546,216 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $22,908,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teza Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 8,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Xponance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,111 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 30.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,943 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price objective on Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

Lazard Stock Down 2.2%

Lazard stock opened at $42.84 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.67 and a 12-month high of $58.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.89 and its 200 day moving average is $45.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.43.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $786.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.29 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 6.95%.The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lazard Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.