Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 41,878 Shares of Dillard’s, Inc. $DDS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its position in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 13.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 259,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,878 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Dillard’s were worth $159,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Dillard’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $764,000. Smart Money Group LLC acquired a new position in Dillard’s during the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Dillard’s by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,730,000 after acquiring an additional 6,682 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Dillard’s by 1,292.9% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Dillard’s by 21.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 67.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DDS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Dillard’s from $184.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $519.67.

Dillard’s Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of DDS opened at $591.07 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $638.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $623.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.65. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 52 week low of $282.24 and a 52 week high of $741.97.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $13.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.98 by $3.07. Dillard’s had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $13.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.30%.

Dillard’s Company Profile

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.