Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 130,700 Shares of Macy’s, Inc. $M

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,343,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 130,700 shares during the period. Macy’s accounts for about 1.8% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $51,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RWC Asset Management LLP grew its position in Macy’s by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 10,902,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,478,000 after purchasing an additional 255,473 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Macy’s by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,764,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,004,000 after buying an additional 669,729 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Macy’s by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,738,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,608,000 after buying an additional 110,548 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Macy’s by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,420,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,547,000 after purchasing an additional 45,997 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Macy’s by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,950,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697,412 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Macy’s from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Macy’s from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Macy’s from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $18.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Olivier Bron sold 7,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $129,525.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,590 shares in the company, valued at $386,892.80. This represents a 25.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Antony Spring sold 50,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total value of $896,788.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 485,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,705,374.72. This represents a 9.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 94,967 shares of company stock worth $1,705,276. 1.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Macy’s Stock Performance

Shares of M opened at $19.53 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.27. Macy’s, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.54 and a twelve month high of $24.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.12. Macy’s had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $7.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.1915 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.76%.

Macy’s Company Profile

Macy’s, Inc is a leading American omnichannel retailer operating under the Macy’s brand, as well as specialty divisions Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury. The company’s retail portfolio encompasses full-line department stores, fashion-focused specialty outlets and a high-end beauty chain, offering consumers a wide array of apparel, footwear, accessories, cosmetics and home furnishings. Through its integrated network of physical stores and digital platforms, Macy’s seeks to deliver a seamless shopping experience that blends in-store service with online convenience.

The company’s product assortment spans men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, beauty and personal care products, housewares and home décor.