Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $16.84 Million Position in Dillard’s, Inc. $DDS

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,768 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,473 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.18% of Dillard’s worth $16,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 28,394.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,354,000 after purchasing an additional 225,734 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the fourth quarter worth $36,598,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the third quarter worth $31,813,000. Man Group plc raised its stake in Dillard’s by 464.3% during the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 38,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,846,000 after buying an additional 31,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Dillard’s by 75.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,687,000 after buying an additional 28,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dillard’s news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total value of $243,672.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,183,177. This represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 34.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

NYSE:DDS opened at $555.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Dillard’s, Inc. has a twelve month low of $397.03 and a twelve month high of $741.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $579.58 and a 200-day moving average of $612.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.16.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $16.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.13 by $5.91. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 31.43%. Dillard’s’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 35.26 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is presently 2.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on DDS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Dillard’s from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $521.33.

About Dillard’s

Dillard’s, Inc (NYSE:DDS), headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a U.S.-based department store chain founded by William T. Dillard in 1938. Over more than eight decades of operation, the company has grown from a single store in Nashville, Arkansas, to a prominent retailer with a national footprint. Dillard’s equity is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DDS.

The company operates approximately 280 departmental stores across 29 states, offering a broad assortment of merchandise that includes men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and home furnishings.