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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total transaction of $35,250.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,723 shares in the company, valued at $59,887.64. The trade was a 37.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Macy’s Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE M opened at $12.87 on Wednesday. Macy’s, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.48 and a 52-week high of $20.70. 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 $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 2.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.25.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.76 billion. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. Analysts expect that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.1824 per share. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s payout ratio is 35.44%.

Institutional Trading of Macy’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $41,765,000 after buying an additional 118,626 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 4.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,691,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,611,000 after acquiring an additional 195,880 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Macy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $594,000. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Macy’s by 724.1% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 103,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,754,000 after purchasing an additional 91,015 shares during the period. Finally, Alerus Financial NA acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,144,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on M. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Macy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Macy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.30.

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.