Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Makes New $22.91 Million Investment in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 546,216 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $22,908,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned about 0.49% of Lazard as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE LAZ 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 twelve month low of $38.67 and a twelve month high of $58.75. The company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.89 and its 200 day moving average is $45.26.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LAZ. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Argus cut their price target on Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.38.

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.