New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 59,333 Shares of Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 309,499 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,333 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of Macy's worth $6,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in M. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Macy's during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Macy's during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in Macy's by 267.1% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Estabrook Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Macy's by 77.8% in the first quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 1,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Macy's by 221.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,506 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,415 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on M shares. Citigroup raised Macy's from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Macy's from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Macy's from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Macy's in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Macy's in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.45.

Macy's Price Performance

M stock traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.30. 5,452,447 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,070,363. Macy's, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.54 and a 52 week high of $22.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 52.16 and a beta of 2.15.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.47. Macy's had a return on equity of 23.34% and a net margin of 0.45%. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Macy's, Inc. will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy's Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.1737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Macy's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Macy's's payout ratio is presently 186.49%.

Insider Activity at Macy's

In other news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $60,656.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,436 shares in the company, valued at $437,937.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Antony Spring sold 14,859 shares of Macy's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.63, for a total value of $291,682.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 248,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,885,848.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $60,656.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at $437,937.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 218,424 shares of company stock worth $4,405,507 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

About Macy's

Macy's, Inc, an omni-channel retail organization, operates stores, websites, and mobile applications in the United States. The company sells a range of merchandise, such as apparel and accessories for men, women, and kids; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods under the Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and bluemercury brands.