Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $221,000 in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 17,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Macy’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Macy’s by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Macy’s by 495.5% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Macy’s Stock Down 2.3%

M stock opened at $11.88 on Friday. Macy’s, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.76 and a 52-week high of $20.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 1.74.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Macy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.1824 dividend. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 37.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Macy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of Macy’s from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $12.00 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of Macy’s in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Macy’s from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $264,606.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 321,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,073,373.92. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Adrian V. Mitchell sold 5,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.77, for a total transaction of $65,407.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,666,370.07. This represents a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,751 shares of company stock valued at $537,790 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

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.