Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 25,873 Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 36.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,576 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,873 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $2,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,958,000 after acquiring an additional 59,907 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on OZK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stephens lowered their price target on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.13.

Bank OZK Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of OZK stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.37. 481,524 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,908. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $35.71 and a 1 year high of $53.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day moving average is $42.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $409.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.05 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 25.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.20%.

Bank OZK Profile

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits.