Macy’s Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:M)

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 26,120 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 31% compared to the typical volume of 19,952 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

M has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Macy’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Macy’s from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $17.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Macy’s in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Macy’s from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Macy’s from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Macy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.75, for a total value of $1,775,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 136,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,416,857.75. This trade represents a 42.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Griscom sold 12,843 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.26, for a total value of $221,670.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 23,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,521.54. This trade represents a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 212,843 shares of company stock worth $3,726,670 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in M. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Macy’s during the first quarter worth approximately $720,000. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Macy’s by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Macy’s by 6.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 25,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Factorial Partners LLC increased its stake in Macy’s by 0.9% in the first quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 111,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the first quarter valued at about $301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Stock Up 9.2%

M stock opened at $21.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Macy’s has a twelve month low of $9.76 and a twelve month high of $22.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.90.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.22. Macy’s had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Macy’s has set its Q3 2025 guidance at -0.200–0.150 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 1.700-2.050 EPS. Research analysts expect that Macy’s will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.1824 per share. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.71%.

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.