GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Reduces Position in Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M)

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. reduced its stake in shares of Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M - Free Report) by 81.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 62,850 shares during the quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC.'s holdings in Macy's were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Macy's during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,689,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Macy's by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,503,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812,151 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC raised its position in Macy's by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 7,838,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,572 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Macy's by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,137,132 shares of the company's stock worth $120,832,000 after buying an additional 774,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Macy's by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,314,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,116,000 after buying an additional 419,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Macy's Stock Down 4.0 %

Macy's stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $10.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,240,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,175,831. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $13.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 1.73. Macy's, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.76 and a 12-month high of $20.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.25. Macy's had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.76 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Macy's, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy's Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.1824 dividend. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Macy's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy's's payout ratio is 35.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Macy's

In other Macy's news, EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 2,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $35,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,887.64. This represents a 37.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Antony Spring sold 3,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total value of $42,923.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 272,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,746,623.20. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,751 shares of company stock worth $537,790. Insiders own 2.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on M shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Macy's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Macy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Macy's from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. New Street Research set a $13.00 target price on Macy's in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Macy's in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Macy's has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.90.

Macy's Company Profile

Macy's, Inc engages in the retail of apparel, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. The firm's brands include Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Bluemercury. It offers men's, women's, and children's apparel, women's accessories, intimate apparel, shoes, cosmetics, fragrances, as well as home and miscellaneous products.