Tracy M. Preston Sells 2,780 Shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) Stock

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 2,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,887.64. This represents a 37.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Macy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE M opened at $12.87 on Wednesday. Macy’s, Inc. has a one year low of $12.48 and a one year high of $20.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 2.07.

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

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.1824 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.67%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.44%.

Institutional Trading of Macy’s

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of M. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Macy’s by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 5,332 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,591,000. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Macy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 23,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 6,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Macy’s by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 17,167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on M. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Macy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. New Street Research set a $13.00 price target on Macy’s in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Macy’s from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.30.

Macy’s Company 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.