Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 276,047 Shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 640,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 276,047 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Macy’s worth $10,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in M. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Macy’s in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 282.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Macy’s during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Macy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Macy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Argus upgraded Macy’s to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Gordon Haskett raised Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Macy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.56.

Macy’s Price Performance

M stock opened at $16.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.00 and a 200-day moving average of $16.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42 and a beta of 2.10. Macy’s, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.06 and a 12 month high of $22.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.03). Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.1737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. Macy’s’s payout ratio is 116.95%.

Macy’s Profile

Macy's, Inc, an omni-channel retail organization, operates stores, websites, and mobile applications in the United States. The company sells a range of merchandise, such as apparel and accessories for men, women, and kids; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods under the Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and bluemercury brands.