Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases 4,924 Shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 121,527 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,924 shares during the period. Dillard's accounts for approximately 0.9% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.75% of Dillard's worth $49,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DDS. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Dillard's by 7.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,390 shares of the company's stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Dillard's by 6.6% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,720 shares of the company's stock worth $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Dillard's during the third quarter worth approximately $1,168,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Dillard's by 46.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,259 shares of the company's stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Dillard's during the third quarter worth approximately $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DDS. StockNews.com raised shares of Dillard's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Dillard's from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Dillard's from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th.

Dillard's Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of DDS stock traded up $8.93 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $417.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 84,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 93,133. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $426.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $382.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.95. Dillard's, Inc. has a 12-month low of $272.58 and a 12-month high of $476.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $13.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.59 by $2.10. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Dillard's had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 40.90%. On average, research analysts predict that Dillard's, Inc. will post 32.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Dillard's's payout ratio is 2.23%.

Insider Activity at Dillard's

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.21, for a total transaction of $205,605.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,687,794. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 33.80% of the company's stock.

Dillard's Profile

Dillard's, Inc operates retail department stores in the southeastern, southwestern, and midwestern areas of the United States. The company's stores offer merchandise, including fashion apparel for women, men, and children; and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods.