Movado Group Inc. $MOV Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management increased its Movado Group stake by 120.8% in the first quarter, purchasing 68,201 additional shares. The firm now owns 124,643 shares, valued at approximately $3.04 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with Movado receiving a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $40.00. Zacks Research upgraded the stock to “strong buy,” while BWS Financial maintained a buy rating with a $45 target.
• Movado reported quarterly EPS of $0.32, substantially above the $0.06 consensus estimate, on revenue of $142.4 million. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share, equivalent to a 4.2% annualized yield.

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Movado Group Inc. (NYSE:MOV - Free Report) by 120.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,643 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 68,201 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.56% of Movado Group worth $3,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOV. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Movado Group by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Movado Group by 99.0% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Movado Group by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,756 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Movado Group by 16,040.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,614 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Movado Group in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. 72.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MOV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Movado Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Movado Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Movado Group in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Movado Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $40.00.

Movado Group Price Performance

Movado Group stock opened at $38.21 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $37.40 and its 200-day moving average is $29.38. The company has a market cap of $843.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29 and a beta of 0.96. Movado Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.78 and a 12 month high of $39.85.

Movado Group (NYSE:MOV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $142.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.12 million. Movado Group had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 4.70%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Movado Group Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Movado Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. This is a positive change from Movado Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. Movado Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 114.29%.

Movado Group Company Profile

Movado Group, Inc is a global designer, manufacturer and distributor of watches and related jewelry products. The company's portfolio encompasses both owned and licensed brands, offering a wide range of timepieces from luxury to accessible price points. Major owned brands include Movado, Concord, and Ebel, alongside newer acquisitions such as MVMT and Olivia Burton. In addition, Movado Group holds licensing agreements to produce watches under fashion names like Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, Lacoste and Scuderia Ferrari.

Movado Group's product line spans classic dress watches, sport and dive models, fashion-forward designs and limited-edition collections.

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