First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 18,332 Shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 182,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,332 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Macerich were worth $3,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Macerich in the fourth quarter worth about $771,000. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in shares of Macerich by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 55,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 10,830 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 55,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 7,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. 87.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MAC shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Macerich from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial raised shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Macerich from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Macerich from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.95.

Macerich Price Performance

NYSE MAC opened at $15.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.95, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.65. The Macerich Company has a 52 week low of $12.48 and a 52 week high of $22.27.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio is presently -86.08%.

Macerich 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.