Amalgamated Bank Has $281,000 Stock Holdings in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its stake in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 65.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 13,717 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Lazard were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 943.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,963,865 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $82,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775,664 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,650,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lazard in the first quarter valued at approximately $15,768,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 254.2% in the fourth quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 377,693 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,144,000 after buying an additional 271,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at $86,403,427.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 429,604 shares of company stock valued at $19,873,736 over the last quarter. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $50.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.43. Lazard, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.82 and a 12-month high of $51.46. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -143.87 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The business had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $625.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -571.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.29.

Lazard 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.