Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Macy's (NYSE:M) Stock Price

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 2.96% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on M. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Macy's from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. New Street Research set a $13.00 price objective on Macy's in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised Macy's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Macy's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $17.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Macy's in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Macy's has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Macy's Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:M traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.66. 1,116,179 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,262,570. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business's 50 day moving average is $12.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 1.77. Macy's has a one year low of $9.76 and a one year high of $20.70.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Antony Spring sold 20,868 shares of Macy's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $264,606.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 321,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,073,373.92. This trade represents a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Adrian V. Mitchell sold 3,489 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total transaction of $47,938.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 116,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,107.10. This represents a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,751 shares of company stock valued at $537,790. Insiders own 1.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy's

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Macy's by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,442 shares of the company's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Macy's by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 120,414 shares of the company's stock worth $2,039,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Macy's by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 102,538 shares of the company's stock worth $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Macy's by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Macy's by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 80,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

About Macy's

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.

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