The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Shares Purchased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 463.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,590,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,131,030 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Macerich were worth $51,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Macerich by 32.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 359,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,549,000 after purchasing an additional 87,611 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in Macerich by 742.3% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,695,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,145 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Macerich in the 4th quarter worth about $771,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 44,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 7,608 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Macerich

In other news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. The trade was a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Macerich from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Macerich in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Macerich from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho raised 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Macerich presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.49.

Macerich Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE MAC opened at $17.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The Macerich Company has a 12 month low of $12.99 and a 12 month high of $22.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.16.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -86.08%.

Macerich Company 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.