Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 49,140 Marcus Corporation (The) $MCS

Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 49,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Saber Capital Managment LLC bought a new position in Marcus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,836,000. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Marcus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,594,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in Marcus by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 915,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,205,000 after acquiring an additional 100,480 shares during the last quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Marcus by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 374,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,716,000 after acquiring an additional 154,439 shares during the period. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its position in Marcus by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,085,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,842,000 after acquiring an additional 70,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.57% of the company’s stock.

Marcus Stock Performance

NYSE:MCS opened at $30.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. Marcus Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $12.85 and a fifty-two week high of $32.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.24. The company has a market capitalization of $945.56 million, a PE ratio of 43.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.51.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.16. Marcus had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 2.67%. The firm had revenue of $231.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.72 million. Research analysts anticipate that Marcus Corporation will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Marcus Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Marcus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marcus in a report on Monday. B. Riley Financial cut shares of Marcus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marcus from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wedbush raised their target price on Marcus from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Marcus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marcus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

About Marcus

The Marcus Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates movie theatres, and hotels and resorts in the United States. It operates a family entertainment center and multiscreen motion picture theatres under the Big Screen Bistro, Big Screen Bistro Express, BistroPlex, and Movie Tavern by Marcus brand names. The company also owns and operates full-service hotels and resorts, as well as manages full-service hotels, resorts, and other properties. In addition, it provides hospitality management services, including check-in, housekeeping, and maintenance for a vacation ownership development; and manages condominium hotels under long-term management contracts.