Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $6.81 Million Stock Position in Dillard’s, Inc. $DDS

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 48.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,903 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Dillard’s were worth $6,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Dillard’s by 322.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 2,680 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 110.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 139 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 18.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 44,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,009,000 after buying an additional 6,913 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 75.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,687,000 after acquiring an additional 28,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the 1st quarter worth about $3,746,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Dillard’s

In other news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total transaction of $243,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,150 shares in the company, valued at $6,183,177. The trade was a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 34.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DDS. Wall Street Zen raised Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings cut Dillard’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $521.33.

Dillard’s Stock Up 0.7%

DDS stock opened at $548.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 52-week low of $449.64 and a 52-week high of $741.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $560.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $595.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 1.15.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $16.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.13 by $5.91. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 31.43% and a net margin of 10.09%.The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 35.26 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.85%.

About Dillard’s

Dillard’s, Inc (NYSE:DDS), headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a U.S.-based department store chain founded by William T. Dillard in 1938. Over more than eight decades of operation, the company has grown from a single store in Nashville, Arkansas, to a prominent retailer with a national footprint. Dillard’s equity is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DDS.

The company operates approximately 280 departmental stores across 29 states, offering a broad assortment of merchandise that includes men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and home furnishings.