Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC Buys 1,018 Shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its stake in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,420 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Dillard’s were worth $1,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 352,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,975,000 after buying an additional 25,212 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Dillard’s by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 211,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,339,000 after acquiring an additional 20,155 shares during the period. Clientfirst Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Dillard’s during the fourth quarter valued at $48,873,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 107.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 77,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,266,000 after purchasing an additional 39,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Dillard’s by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on DDS shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Dillard’s in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Dillard’s from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Dillard’s Price Performance

DDS stock opened at $399.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $464.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $414.45. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 12-month low of $328.00 and a 12-month high of $510.00.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.84 by $3.64. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 32.13% and a net margin of 9.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $15.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total transaction of $130,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,167 shares in the company, valued at $505,836.15. The trade was a 20.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Dillard’s Profile

Dillard’s, Inc engages in the retail of fashion apparel, cosmetics, and home furnishings, and other consumer goods. It operates through the Retail Operations and Construction segments. The Retail Operations segment comprises sells cosmetics, ladies’ apparel, ladies’ accessories and lingerie, juniors’ and children’s apparel, men’s apparel and accessories, shoes, and home and furniture products.