New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 309,499 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,333 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $6,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in M. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Macy’s during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Macy’s by 267.1% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Estabrook Capital Management boosted its stake in Macy’s by 77.8% in the first quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 221.4% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Macy’s Stock Down 3.1 %

M stock opened at $19.31 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.18 and a beta of 2.15. Macy’s, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.54 and a 52 week high of $22.10.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Macy’s had a return on equity of 23.34% and a net margin of 0.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.1737 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 186.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on M shares. TD Cowen lowered Macy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Macy’s from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Macy’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Macy’s from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Macy’s from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Macy’s news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $60,656.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,937.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Macy’s news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $60,656.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,937.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Antony Spring sold 14,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.63, for a total value of $291,682.17. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,885,848.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 218,424 shares of company stock valued at $4,405,507 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Profile

Macy's, Inc, an omni-channel retail organization, operates stores, websites, and mobile applications in the United States. The company sells a range of merchandise, such as apparel and accessories for men, women, and kids; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods under the Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and bluemercury brands.