Northern Trust Corp Buys 21,199 Shares of Dillard's, Inc. $DDS

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Dillard's, Inc. by 84.1%, acquiring an additional 21,199 shares, bringing its total ownership to 46,416 shares worth approximately $16.6 million.
• Research analysts have revised their price targets for Dillard's, with JPMorgan raising it to $458 while UBS set a target of $175; the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Sell".
• Dillard's announced a dividend increase to $0.30 per share, effective November 3rd, reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend of $0.25, leading to an annualized yield of 0.2%.

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) by 84.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,416 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 21,199 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.29% of Dillard's worth $16,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 783 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dillard's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Dillard's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 5,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dillard's Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE DDS traded up $4.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $575.99. The stock had a trading volume of 172,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,000. Dillard's, Inc. has a 1 year low of $282.24 and a 1 year high of $579.55. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $487.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $414.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.87. Dillard's had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $11.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Dillard's, Inc. will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard's Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Dillard's's payout ratio is presently 2.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Dillard's 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.