Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 54,319 Shares of Macro Bank Inc. $BMA

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Macro Bank Inc. by 69.8%, owning 23,466 shares valued at $1.77 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Several other institutional investors increased their positions, with MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. leading by raising its stake by 84.6% during the fourth quarter.
• Macro Bank recently cut its dividend, with a payout of $0.3658 announced for investors of record on August 15th.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Macro Bank Inc. (NYSE:BMA - Free Report) by 69.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,466 shares of the bank's stock after selling 54,319 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Macro Bank were worth $1,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BMA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Macro Bank in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Macro Bank by 1,829.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 598 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Macro Bank by 19.0% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 775 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Macro Bank by 31.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,029 shares of the bank's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Macro Bank during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $157,000.

Macro Bank Price Performance

NYSE BMA traded down $1.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $58.14. 278,813 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 401,235. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Macro Bank Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.33 and a 12-month high of $118.42.

Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.04). Macro Bank had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 8.32%.The firm had revenue of $834.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $752.51 million. As a group, analysts predict that Macro Bank Inc. will post 7.84 EPS for the current year.

Macro Bank Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.3658 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Macro Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on Macro Bank in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.17.

Macro Bank Company Profile

Banco Macro SA provides various banking products and services to retail and corporate customers in Argentina. It offers various retail banking products and services, such as savings and checking accounts, time deposits, credit and debit cards, consumer finance loans, mortgage loans, automobile loans, overdrafts, credit-related services, home and car insurance coverage, tax collection, utility payments, automated teller machines, and money transfers.