Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,398,149 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,685,986 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 4.52% of Macy's worth $249,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in M. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Macy's by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,381,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645,577 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Macy's by 260.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,547,529 shares of the company's stock worth $29,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841,432 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Macy's by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,272,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730,307 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Macy's by 140.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,526,523 shares of the company's stock worth $29,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Macy's by 20.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,287,930 shares of the company's stock worth $38,173,000 after purchasing an additional 565,269 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

M has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Macy's from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Macy's in a research report on Friday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Macy's from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Cowen cut shares of Macy's from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Macy's from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Macy's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.45.

Macy's Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE M traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.92. The stock had a trading volume of 3,986,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,280,693. Macy's, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.54 and a twelve month high of $22.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.84 and a beta of 2.16.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.45 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Macy's, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Macy's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.1737 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Macy's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 186.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Macy's

In related news, CFO Adrian V. Mitchell sold 13,249 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $270,544.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 99,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,023,581.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Macy's news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $60,656.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,937.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Adrian V. Mitchell sold 13,249 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $270,544.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 99,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,023,581.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 218,424 shares of company stock worth $4,405,507. 2.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Macy's Company Profile

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.