Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Stock Holdings Decreased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 491,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,893 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.09% of Dillard’s worth $212,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DDS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Dillard’s by 177.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 85.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 261 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Grove Street Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Dillard’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Dillard’s by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 67.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of DDS stock opened at $316.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $417.16 and a 200-day moving average of $416.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.89. Dillard’s, Inc. has a one year low of $287.43 and a one year high of $510.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.84 by $3.64. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 32.13% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $15.44 EPS. Dillard’s’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total value of $130,035.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,836.15. The trade was a 20.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 33.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Dillard’s from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Dillard’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Dillard’s Company Profile

Dillard’s, Inc engages in the retail of fashion apparel, cosmetics, and home furnishings, and other consumer goods. It operates through the Retail Operations and Construction segments. The Retail Operations segment comprises sells cosmetics, ladies’ apparel, ladies’ accessories and lingerie, juniors’ and children’s apparel, men’s apparel and accessories, shoes, and home and furniture products.