M&T Bank Corp Purchases 21,615 Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)

M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) by 47.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,615 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Lazard worth $2,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Lazard by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 16,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Todd Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 1.2% during the third quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 87,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1.2% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 87,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,114 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Up 0.5 %

Lazard stock opened at $39.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of -111.46 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.44 and a 200 day moving average of $35.96. Lazard, Inc. has a one year low of $25.82 and a one year high of $42.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $678.57 million. Lazard had a negative net margin of 0.63% and a positive return on equity of 37.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently -571.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total transaction of $2,951,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,448 shares in the company, valued at $8,950,078.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LAZ shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 price target (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet upgraded Lazard from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.67.

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.