Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Acquires 104,067 Shares of Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 54.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,883 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,067 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Lazard were worth $14,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Lazard news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total transaction of $155,275.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,707.73. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,597,995.92. This represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962 in the last three months. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE:LAZ opened at $43.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.44. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.67 and a 52-week high of $58.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 3.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The company had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 79.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on LAZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.00.

About Lazard

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.