Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Acquires 8,781 Shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 36.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,010 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,781 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in M. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 120,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,039,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 80,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 41,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 45,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Macy’s Stock Performance

Macy’s stock opened at $11.59 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $12.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.65. 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 cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.73. Macy’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.76 and a fifty-two week high of $20.70.

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

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.1824 dividend. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on M shares. New Street Research set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Macy’s in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Macy’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $17.00 to $12.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Macy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Macy’s from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Macy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Macy’s news, CEO Antony Spring sold 20,868 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 321,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,073,373.92. The trade was a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Adrian V. Mitchell sold 3,489 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total transaction of $47,938.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 116,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,107.10. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,751 shares of company stock worth $537,790 in the last 90 days. 2.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Macy’s

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.