MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,646 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,167 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $2,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Macy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Macy’s by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Macy’s by 495.5% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Macy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Antony Spring sold 20,868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $264,606.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 321,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,073,373.92. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 2,780 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,751 shares of company stock worth $537,790 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Price Performance

Macy’s stock opened at $12.10 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 1.77. Macy’s, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.76 and a 1 year 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.

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

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.1824 per share. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Macy’s’s payout ratio is currently 35.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Macy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Benchmark raised shares of Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They set a “cautious” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.00.

Macy’s 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.