Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Position in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,109 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 831 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Dillard’s were worth $2,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Dillard’s by 7.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Dillard’s by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Dillard’s during the 3rd quarter worth $1,168,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Dillard’s by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Dillard’s during the 3rd quarter worth $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DDS. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

NYSE:DDS opened at $445.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $428.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $384.40. Dillard’s, Inc. has a twelve month low of $272.58 and a twelve month high of $476.48. The company has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.95.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $13.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.59 by $2.10. Dillard’s had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 40.90%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 32.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.21, for a total value of $205,605.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,687,794. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 33.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Dillard’s Company Profile

Dillard's, Inc operates retail department stores in the southeastern, southwestern, and midwestern areas of the United States. The company's stores offer merchandise, including fashion apparel for women, men, and children; and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods.