WBI Investments LLC Acquires New Shares in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 127,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,162,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Macy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $96,689,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Macy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,775,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,812,151 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Macy’s by 1,230.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,387,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC lifted its position in Macy’s by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 7,838,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,701,000 after buying an additional 1,627,572 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on M shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Gordon Haskett lowered Macy’s from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. New Street Research set a $13.00 target price on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Benchmark upgraded Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Macy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Macy’s Price Performance

Shares of M opened at $12.24 on Monday. Macy’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.76 and a fifty-two week high of $20.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74 and a beta of 1.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.04 and its 200-day moving average is $14.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.25. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.76 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Macy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.1824 per share. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.44%.

Insider Transactions at Macy’s

In related news, EVP Adrian V. Mitchell sold 3,489 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total value of $47,938.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 116,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,107.10. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Antony Spring sold 20,868 shares of Macy’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 $264,606.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 321,244 shares in the company, valued at $4,073,373.92. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,751 shares of company stock valued at $537,790. Company insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

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.