Fruth Investment Management Trims Stake in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

Fruth Investment Management reduced its holdings in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Macy’s by 4.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,661,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,765,000 after purchasing an additional 118,626 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Macy’s by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,691,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,611,000 after buying an additional 195,880 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Macy’s in the 3rd quarter worth $594,000. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Macy’s by 724.1% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 103,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after buying an additional 91,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alerus Financial NA purchased a new position in Macy’s in the third quarter worth $2,144,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Price Performance

Shares of Macy’s stock opened at $14.88 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.75. Macy’s, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.66 and a 12-month high of $22.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.03). Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Macy’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Macy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Macy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.75.

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.