Bank of America Corp DE Acquires New Stake in Lazard, Inc. $LAZ

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1,004,339 Lazard shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $42.1 million and representing a 0.91% stake. Several other institutional investors also opened positions, with institutions and hedge funds owning 54.8% of Lazard.
• Lazard’s stock opened at $36.54, near its one-year low of $35.16 and below its 50- and 200-day moving averages. The company missed quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.12 versus the $0.34 consensus, although revenue rose 1.5% year over year to $786.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Lazard carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and a $50.38 target price. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equivalent to a 5.5% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,004,339 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $42,122,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.91% of Lazard as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth about $22,908,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,350,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at $67,275,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth $217,000. Finally, EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth $739,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LAZ. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lazard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Four 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.38.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE:LAZ opened at $36.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.84. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.85. Lazard, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.16 and a 1-year high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released 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 analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is 98.04%.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. NYSE: LAZ is a global financial advisory and asset management firm. The company provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, restructuring, strategic matters and other corporate finance activities. Lazard also offers asset management services for institutions, financial intermediaries, private clients and other investors.

Lazard traces its origins to 1848, when the Lazard brothers established a business in New Orleans. The firm later expanded to San Francisco and Paris, developing an international platform that serves clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other key global markets.

The company operates through financial advisory and asset management businesses, with teams serving corporations, governments, institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

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