Highland Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,535 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in M. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Macy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Estabrook Capital Management raised its holdings in Macy’s by 77.8% in the first quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Macy’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Macy’s by 267.1% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Macy’s by 52.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on M shares. TD Cowen cut Macy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Saturday, March 23rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Macy’s from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Macy’s from $15.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised Macy’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Macy’s news, Director Jeffrey Gennette sold 19,609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $397,670.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,015,015 shares in the company, valued at $20,584,504.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 3,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $66,396.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 311,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,709.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Gennette sold 19,609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $397,670.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,015,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,584,504.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 152,994 shares of company stock worth $3,120,008 in the last quarter. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Macy’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:M opened at $19.85 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.30. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.64 and a beta of 2.14. Macy’s, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.54 and a 12-month high of $22.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.47. Macy’s had a return on equity of 23.34% and a net margin of 0.45%. The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Macy’s’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.1737 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 186.49%.

Macy’s Company Profile

Macy's, Inc, an omni-channel retail organization, operates stores, websites, and mobile applications in the United States. The company sells a range of merchandise, such as apparel and accessories for men, women, and kids; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods under the Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and bluemercury brands.