Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 20,300 Shares of ManpowerGroup Inc. (NYSE:MAN)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ManpowerGroup Inc. (NYSE:MAN) by 166.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ManpowerGroup were worth $1,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MAN. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of ManpowerGroup by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 154,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,387,000 after acquiring an additional 59,821 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of ManpowerGroup by 1,373.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 53,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after acquiring an additional 49,845 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of ManpowerGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of ManpowerGroup by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 28,144 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of ManpowerGroup by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares during the period. 98.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ManpowerGroup Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:MAN opened at $44.02 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.15. ManpowerGroup Inc. has a one year low of $38.10 and a one year high of $78.22. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 1.09.

ManpowerGroup (NYSE:MAN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The business services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). ManpowerGroup had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The firm had revenue of $698.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that ManpowerGroup Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ManpowerGroup Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. ManpowerGroup’s payout ratio is 62.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MAN shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of ManpowerGroup from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of ManpowerGroup from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of ManpowerGroup from $65.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised shares of ManpowerGroup from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of ManpowerGroup from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.50.

ManpowerGroup Profile

ManpowerGroup Inc provides workforce solutions and services worldwide. The company offers recruitment services, including permanent, temporary, and contract recruitment of professionals, as well as administrative and industrial positions under the Manpower and Experis brands. It also offers various assessment services; training and development services; career and talent management; and outsourcing services related to human resources functions primarily in the areas of large-scale recruiting and workforce-intensive initiatives.