Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 115,511 Shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 916,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 115,511 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Macy’s worth $17,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Macy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Macy’s by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,371,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,710,000 after buying an additional 13,712 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Macy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Macy’s by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 60,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 15,566 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Macy’s news, CEO Antony Spring sold 18,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.96, for a total value of $359,879.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 267,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,067,344.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Macy’s news, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 24,147 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.96, for a total value of $457,827.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,598,080. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Antony Spring sold 18,981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.96, for a total value of $359,879.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,067,344.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,464 shares of company stock valued at $824,081 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.77% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Stock Performance

Shares of M opened at $15.30 on Thursday. Macy’s, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.54 and a 12-month high of $22.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 510.00 and a beta of 2.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.50.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.80% and a return on equity of 23.14%. Macy’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.1737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. Macy’s’s payout ratio is 2,300.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on M. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Macy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Macy’s from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Macy’s from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Macy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.50.

About Macy’s

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.