Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Position in Dillard's, Inc. $DDS

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. has made a significant investment in Dillard's, purchasing 3,681 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million during the first quarter of the year.
• Dillard's has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share, representing a yield of 0.2%, with the new dividend set to be paid on November 3rd to shareholders of record on September 30th.
• Dillard's stock price rose by 3.0% recently, trading at $585.90, while the company reported earnings of $4.66 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.87.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,318,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Perbak Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Dillard's in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Dillard's by 966.9% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 13,816 shares of the company's stock worth $4,948,000 after acquiring an additional 12,521 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Dillard's by 322.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,510 shares of the company's stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Dillard's by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 4,225 shares of the company's stock worth $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dillard's in the first quarter worth $461,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Dillard's from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Dillard's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Dillard's from $368.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Dillard's from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Sell" and a consensus price target of $394.33.

Dillard's Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Dillard's stock traded down $10.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $575.12. 112,512 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,873. The stock has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $500.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $417.65. Dillard's, Inc. has a 12-month low of $282.24 and a 12-month high of $586.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Dillard's had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 30.55%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.09 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Dillard's, Inc. will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dillard's Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Dillard's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.76%.

Dillard's Company Profile

Dillard's, Inc engages in the retail of fashion apparel, cosmetics, and home furnishings, and other consumer goods. It operates through the Retail Operations and Construction segments. The Retail Operations segment comprises sells cosmetics, ladies' apparel, ladies' accessories and lingerie, juniors' and children's apparel, men's apparel and accessories, shoes, and home and furniture products.