Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Sold by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its stake in shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 315,097 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 96,558 shares during the quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned about 0.28% of Lazard worth $16,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 1,114.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 238,388 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,272,000 after buying an additional 218,755 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter worth about $755,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,284,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $66,137,000 after purchasing an additional 638,169 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,160,000. Finally, Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $644,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $41.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.28. Lazard, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.39 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. Lazard's revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Lazard's payout ratio is 69.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. The trade was a 27.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541. Insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.

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