Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) Holdings Trimmed by Covestor Ltd

Covestor Ltd lowered its holdings in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 76.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,541 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $28,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Macy’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $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 acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Macy’s in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 495.5% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Macy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Price Performance

NYSE M opened at $11.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.93. Macy’s, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.76 and a twelve month high of $20.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.25. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.76 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.1824 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. This is an increase from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on M. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Macy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Benchmark raised shares of Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Macy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Macy’s from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Macy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.20.

Insider Transactions at Macy’s

In related news, CEO Antony Spring sold 3,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total value of $42,923.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 272,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,746,623.20. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 2,780 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $35,250.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,723 shares in the company, valued at $59,887.64. The trade was a 37.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,751 shares of company stock valued at $537,790. 2.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Macy’s

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.