LPL Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 80,836 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,665 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $1,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Macy’s by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Macy’s during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Macy’s in the fourth quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Macy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Stock Performance

NYSE:M opened at $11.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86 and a beta of 1.73. Macy’s, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.76 and a 1 year high of $20.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.19 and a 200-day moving average of $14.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.25. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.76 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.1824 per share. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Macy’s’s payout ratio is currently 35.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Macy’s

In related news, CEO Antony Spring sold 20,868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total transaction of $264,606.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 321,244 shares in the company, valued at $4,073,373.92. This trade represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Adrian V. Mitchell sold 3,489 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total value of $47,938.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 116,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,107.10. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,751 shares of company stock worth $537,790. Company insiders own 2.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 target price on Macy’s in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Macy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.90.

Macy’s Company Profile

Macy’s, Inc engages in the retail of apparel, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. The firm’s brands include Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury. It offers men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel, women’s accessories, intimate apparel, shoes, cosmetics, fragrances, as well as home and miscellaneous products.