Tracy M. Preston Sells 2,780 Shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) Stock

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 2,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $35,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,887.64. This trade represents a 37.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Macy’s Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:M opened at $13.22 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.48 and a 52-week high of $20.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41 and a beta of 2.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.24.

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

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.1824 per share. This is an increase from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett downgraded Macy’s from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a report on Monday, March 10th. New Street Research set a $13.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Benchmark raised shares of Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Macy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Macy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.30.

Institutional Trading of Macy’s

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Macy’s by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,751,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,666,000 after buying an additional 1,149,454 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 7,838,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627,572 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Macy’s by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,503,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812,151 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Macy’s by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,137,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,832,000 after purchasing an additional 774,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Macy’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,689,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.