Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Movado Group, Inc. (NYSE:MOV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Movado Group, Inc. (NYSE:MOV) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,546 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Movado Group worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Movado Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,241,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,443,000 after purchasing an additional 19,994 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Movado Group by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 610,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,409,000 after buying an additional 235,039 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Movado Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 237,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,173,000 after buying an additional 11,876 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Movado Group by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 221,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,071,000 after buying an additional 22,112 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Movado Group by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 157,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,763,000 after buying an additional 51,995 shares during the period. 72.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Movado Group Stock Performance

Movado Group stock traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.07. The company had a trading volume of 23,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,756. The firm has a market cap of $534.59 million, a P/E ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.04. Movado Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.92 and a 1 year high of $31.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.28.

Movado Group (NYSE:MOV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter. Movado Group had a net margin of 6.09% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The business had revenue of $136.67 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Movado Group, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Movado Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.82%. Movado Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Movado Group in a research report on Friday, May 31st.

About Movado Group

Movado Group, Inc designs, sources, markets, and distributes watches in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Watch and Accessory Brands, and Company Stores. The company offers its watches under the Movado, Concord, Ebel, Olivia Burton, and MVMT brands, as well as licensed brands comprising Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, HUGO BOSS, Lacoste, and Calvin Klein.