Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 13,351 Shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 34.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,351 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Macerich were worth $1,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Macerich by 152.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Macerich by 40.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 2,161 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC grew its stake in Macerich by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 11,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Macerich by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 5,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MAC shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Macerich in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Compass Point increased their price objective on Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Macerich from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Three 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.30.

Macerich Price Performance

Shares of Macerich stock opened at $20.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.51. The Macerich Company has a twelve month low of $12.99 and a twelve month high of $22.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Macerich

In other Macerich news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,120.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. This trade represents a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.