Lazard Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Mitek Systems, Inc. $MITK

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Mitek Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MITK) by 99.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,046 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 31,935,442 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.48% of Mitek Systems worth $2,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Mitek Systems by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 430,593 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 38,793 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Mitek Systems in the first quarter valued at $411,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Mitek Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $299,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in shares of Mitek Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,531,000. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P increased its position in Mitek Systems by 107.3% during the first quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 31,902 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 16,512 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Mitek Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MITK opened at $16.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Mitek Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.53 and a twelve month high of $21.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.81. The company has a market capitalization of $754.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.72 and a beta of 0.97.

Mitek Systems (NASDAQ:MITK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The software maker reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $54.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.59 million. Mitek Systems had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 16.74%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mitek Systems, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MITK. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mitek Systems from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Mitek Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Northland Securities set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mitek Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mitek Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mitek Systems currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mitek Systems news, COO Garrett Gafke sold 21,108 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.19, for a total value of $299,522.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 244,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,466,319.01. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Mitek Systems

Mitek Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: MITK) is a software company specializing in mobile capture and digital identity verification solutions. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Mitek develops and licenses patented technology that enables organizations to securely capture, authenticate and process identity documents, checks and other physical media using smartphones and other digital devices. Its platforms leverage advanced image processing, machine learning and biometrics to streamline customer onboarding and prevent fraud in real time.

The company’s core offerings include mobile check deposit and deposit automation tools for financial institutions, as well as identity verification and authentication services for banks, fintechs, insurers and government agencies.