American Assets Capital Advisers LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

American Assets Capital Advisers LLC cut its stake in shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 295,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 31,552 shares during the quarter. Macerich accounts for 2.0% of American Assets Capital Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Macerich were worth $5,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MAC. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Macerich by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Macerich by 314.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Macerich during the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Macerich in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $1,303,120.51. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,718,832.61. The trade was a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Macerich Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Macerich stock opened at $16.47 on Friday. The Macerich Company has a 1 year low of $12.99 and a 1 year high of $22.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.22, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.54 and a 200 day moving average of $19.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Macerich’s payout ratio is -86.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Macerich in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upgraded Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Macerich from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Macerich from $16.70 to $14.40 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.03.

Macerich Company 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.