JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Price Target to $18.00

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MAC. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Macerich from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Macerich in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Macerich has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.03.

Macerich Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAC opened at $16.83 on Monday. Macerich has a fifty-two week low of $12.99 and a fifty-two week high of $22.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.06. The company has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. Macerich’s payout ratio is presently -86.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,120.51. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,718,832.61. This trade represents a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Macerich during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Macerich during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Macerich by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Macerich during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Macerich by 314.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Macerich

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.