WBI Investments LLC Purchases New Shares in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 127,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,162,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Macy’s by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 120,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position 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 valued at $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 80,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on M. Morgan Stanley restated a “negative” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. New Street Research set a $13.00 price objective on Macy’s in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Macy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Macy’s from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Macy’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:M opened at $12.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.27. Macy’s, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.76 and a 1-year high of $20.70.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.25. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.76 billion. Research analysts expect that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.1824 dividend. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 35.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Adrian V. Mitchell sold 5,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.77, for a total transaction of $65,407.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,666,370.07. This trade represents a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 2,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total transaction of $35,250.40. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,751 shares of company stock worth $537,790 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s 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.