Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 3,706 Shares of Dillard's, Inc. $DDS

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its Dillard’s position by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,706 shares and leaving it with 302,570 shares valued at about $183.5 million.
• Dillard’s posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $13.05 per share versus estimates of $9.98, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts at $1.99 billion and fell 3% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating with an average price target of $521.33, while analysts have mixed views and several recently cut targets or ratings.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 302,570 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,706 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 1.93% of Dillard's worth $183,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Dillard's by 24.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,624,000 after acquiring an additional 5,604 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Dillard's in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,565,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Dillard's by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Dillard's by 15.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,010 shares of the company's stock worth $30,730,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares during the period. Finally, Monument Capital Management raised its holdings in Dillard's by 818.6% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 4,198 shares of the company's stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 3,741 shares during the period. 67.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Dillard's Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:DDS opened at $563.50 on Monday. Dillard's, Inc. has a 12 month low of $359.72 and a 12 month high of $741.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $588.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.50. The firm has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.17.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $13.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by $3.07. Dillard's had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $13.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Dillard's, Inc. will post 32.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Dillard's's payout ratio is presently 3.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DDS. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Dillard's from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Dillard's in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Dillard's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Dillard's from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Dillard's from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $521.33.

Dillard's Company 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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