Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Invests $99,000 in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 4,977 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $99,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Macerich in the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,190,229 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,709,000 after purchasing an additional 171,954 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Macerich in the fourth quarter worth approximately $299,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 775,751 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,453,000 after purchasing an additional 42,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 183,508 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,655,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

Macerich Stock Performance

Shares of Macerich stock opened at $20.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.69. The Macerich Company has a 12 month low of $12.99 and a 12 month high of $22.27.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MAC shares. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Macerich from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.30.

Insider Transactions at Macerich

In other news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $1,303,120.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 83,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,718,832.61. The trade was a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Macerich Company Profile

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich’s portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, DC corridor.