Macy's, Inc. $M Stake Lowered by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its Macy's stake by 32.7% in Q4, selling 53,828 shares and leaving it with 110,551 shares valued at about $2.44 million.
• Other institutions were more active on the buy side—Invesco and Arrowstreet materially increased positions (Invesco up 160.5% to ~4.28M shares; Arrowstreet to ~5.95M)—and institutional ownership totals 87.36%.
• Analysts' consensus is a "Reduce" rating with an average target of $18.90, even as Macy's recently beat EPS estimates ($1.67 vs. $1.55) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.1915 (annualized $0.77, ~3.9% yield).

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M - Free Report) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,551 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,828 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Macy's were worth $2,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Macy's by 160.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,283,107 shares of the company's stock worth $49,941,000 after buying an additional 2,639,132 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Macy's by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,950,950 shares of the company's stock worth $106,701,000 after buying an additional 1,697,412 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Macy's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,722,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in Macy's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,673,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Macy's by 812.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 768,008 shares of the company's stock worth $13,770,000 after buying an additional 683,816 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Macy's

In other Macy's news, CEO Olivier Bron sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $129,525.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $386,892.80. This trade represents a 25.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 10,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total value of $179,379.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 108,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,503.36. This trade represents a 8.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 94,967 shares of company stock valued at $1,705,276. Company insiders own 1.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

M has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Macy's from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Macy's in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Macy's in a report on Friday, March 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Macy's in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Macy's from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $18.90.

Macy's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE M opened at $19.82 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 1.47. Macy's, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.54 and a 1 year high of $24.41.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.48 billion. Macy's had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 2.84%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Macy's, Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy's Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.1915 per share. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Macy's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Macy's's dividend payout ratio is 33.19%.

About Macy's

Macy's, Inc is a leading American omnichannel retailer operating under the Macy's brand, as well as specialty divisions Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury. The company's retail portfolio encompasses full-line department stores, fashion-focused specialty outlets and a high-end beauty chain, offering consumers a wide array of apparel, footwear, accessories, cosmetics and home furnishings. Through its integrated network of physical stores and digital platforms, Macy's seeks to deliver a seamless shopping experience that blends in-store service with online convenience.

The company's product assortment spans men's, women's and children's clothing, beauty and personal care products, housewares and home décor.

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