Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Acquires New Position in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 39,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Macerich by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,171,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $103,012,000 after purchasing an additional 369,931 shares during the period. B&I Capital AG acquired a new stake in Macerich in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,379,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Macerich by 314.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares during the period. Hanover Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Macerich during the fourth quarter worth about $314,000. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P increased its stake in shares of Macerich by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 2,170,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $43,227,000 after buying an additional 453,180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

Macerich Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAC opened at $18.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.50. The Macerich Company has a twelve month low of $12.99 and a twelve month high of $22.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Macerich’s payout ratio is currently -86.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Macerich

In other Macerich news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $1,303,120.51. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. This trade represents a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Macerich from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Macerich in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Macerich from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.22.

Macerich Profile

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich’s portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, DC corridor.