Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 22,400 Shares of Dillard’s, Inc. $DDS

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 18.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,180 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.91% of Dillard’s worth $81,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Dillard’s by 322.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 110.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Dillard’s by 18.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 44,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,009,000 after purchasing an additional 6,913 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Dillard’s by 75.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,687,000 after purchasing an additional 28,468 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the 1st quarter worth about $3,746,000. Institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Dillard’s

In other news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total transaction of $243,672.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,183,177. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Dillard’s Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Dillard’s stock opened at $568.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $563.04 and a 200-day moving average of $593.31. The stock has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 1.15. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 52-week low of $449.64 and a 52-week high of $741.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.37.

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

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on DDS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Dillard’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.