Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) Holdings Cut by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,535 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Macy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the first quarter worth $33,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Macy’s by 267.1% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Estabrook Capital Management boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 77.8% in the 1st quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 221.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on M. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Macy’s from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Macy’s from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Macy’s from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Macy’s from $15.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Saturday, March 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.45.

Macy’s Stock Performance

M stock opened at $19.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 53.64 and a beta of 2.14. Macy’s, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.54 and a 12-month high of $22.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.43 and a 200-day moving average of $16.30.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.47. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 23.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.1737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. This is a positive change from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 186.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $60,656.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,937.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $60,656.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,937.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Antony Spring sold 13,404 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $273,709.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,286 shares in the company, valued at $4,559,500.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,994 shares of company stock valued at $3,120,008 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Company Profile

Macy's, Inc, an omni-channel retail organization, operates stores, websites, and mobile applications in the United States. The company sells a range of merchandise, such as apparel and accessories for men, women, and kids; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods under the Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and bluemercury brands.