Bank of America Corp DE Sells 17,743 Shares of Dillard's, Inc. $DDS

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its Dillard’s stake by 32.9% in the first quarter, selling 17,743 shares and retaining 36,199 shares valued at approximately $20.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.15% of DDS.
• Dillard’s reported quarterly EPS of $6.25, beating analyst expectations of $4.29, while revenue of $1.53 billion slightly exceeded estimates. Analysts nevertheless maintain a cautious outlook, with an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $545.67.
• The stock opened at $584.80, up 0.9%, and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to a $1.20 annualized dividend and a 0.2% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its holdings in shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) by 32.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,199 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,743 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.23% of Dillard's worth $20,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DDS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Dillard's by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Dillard's by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Dillard's by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 399 shares of the company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Dillard's by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Dillard's by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the company's stock worth $981,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 67.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DDS shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Dillard's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Dillard's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Dillard's from $465.00 to $468.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Dillard's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Dillard's from $496.00 to $519.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $545.67.

Insider Transactions at Dillard's

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total value of $243,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,183,177. This represents a 3.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 34.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Dillard's Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE DDS opened at $584.80 on Wednesday. Dillard's, Inc. has a 1 year low of $495.00 and a 1 year high of $741.97. The company has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $571.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $586.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $1.96. Dillard's had a return on equity of 31.88% and a net margin of 10.48%.The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Dillard's, Inc. will post 35.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.75%.

Dillard's Profile

Dillard's, Inc NYSE: DDS, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a U.S.-based department store chain founded by William T. Dillard in 1938. Over more than eight decades of operation, the company has grown from a single store in Nashville, Arkansas, to a prominent retailer with a national footprint. Dillard's equity is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DDS.

The company operates approximately 280 departmental stores across 29 states, offering a broad assortment of merchandise that includes men's and women's apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and home furnishings.

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