Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 44,896 Shares of Macy’s, Inc. $M

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 279,678 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 44,896 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Macy’s were worth $3,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Macy’s by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Macy’s by 6.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 25,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares in the last quarter. Factorial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Macy’s by 0.9% during the first quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 111,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Macy’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Macy’s by 2.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,849,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,790,000 after buying an additional 73,096 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Macy’s Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:M opened at $22.71 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.27 and its 200 day moving average is $15.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Macy’s, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.76 and a 1 year high of $23.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.83.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.22. Macy’s had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.1824 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

M has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Macy’s from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Macy’s from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Macy’s from $14.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Macy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Macy’s from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.30.

Insider Activity at Macy’s

In other news, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 100,000 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.75, for a total transaction of $1,775,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 136,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,416,857.75. The trade was a 42.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Griscom sold 12,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.26, for a total transaction of $221,670.18. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 23,379 shares in the company, valued at $403,521.54. This trade represents a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 212,843 shares of company stock worth $3,726,670. 1.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Macy’s

Macy’s, Inc engages in the retail of apparel, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. The firm’s brands include Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury. It offers men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel, women’s accessories, intimate apparel, shoes, cosmetics, fragrances, as well as home and miscellaneous products.