Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,531 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Dillard’s were worth $2,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Dillard’s by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 5,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 121,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,054,000 after buying an additional 4,924 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,049,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Dillard’s by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,793,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on DDS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Dillard’s from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Dillard’s from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Dillard’s Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DDS opened at $435.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $430.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $392.74. Dillard’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $272.58 and a fifty-two week high of $476.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $13.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.59 by $2.10. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 40.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 32.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.23%.

Insider Activity at Dillard’s

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 500 shares of Dillard’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.21, for a total value of $205,605.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,687,794. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Dillard’s Profile

Dillard's, Inc operates retail department stores in the southeastern, southwestern, and midwestern areas of the United States. The company's stores offer merchandise, including fashion apparel for women, men, and children; and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods.