Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) EVP Tracy M. Preston Sells 2,780 Shares

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 2,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total transaction of $35,250.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,887.64. The trade was a 37.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Macy’s Stock Performance

M opened at $12.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.36 and a 200 day moving average of $15.26. Macy’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.48 and a fifty-two week high of $20.70.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.25. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.76 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.1824 dividend. This is an increase from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.79%. Macy’s’s payout ratio is presently 35.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on M. Gordon Haskett lowered Macy’s from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. New Street Research set a $13.00 price objective on Macy’s in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $15.00 target price on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of M. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Macy’s by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 5,332 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Macy’s in the 4th quarter worth $2,591,000. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the 4th quarter worth about $177,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in shares of Macy’s by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 23,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 6,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,296,000 after acquiring an additional 17,167 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.