Macy’s Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:M)

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 22,630 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 114% compared to the average volume of 10,595 call options.

Insider Activity at Macy’s

In other Macy’s news, EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 5,271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total value of $94,456.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,773 shares in the company, valued at $515,612.16. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Antony Spring sold 50,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $896,788.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 485,791 shares in the company, valued at $8,705,374.72. This represents a 9.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 94,967 shares of company stock worth $1,705,276. Corporate insiders own 1.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Macy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of M. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Macy’s in the fourth quarter worth $85,020,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Macy’s in the fourth quarter worth $69,562,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Macy’s by 1,344.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,059,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Macy’s by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,823,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Macy’s by 160.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,283,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639,132 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on M. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Macy’s from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Macy’s from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Macy’s from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $18.90.

Macy’s Stock Performance

Shares of Macy’s stock traded up $0.54 on Wednesday, reaching $19.59. 2,295,287 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,752,451. Macy’s has a 52 week low of $10.54 and a 52 week high of $24.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.63 and a 200 day moving average of $20.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.48 billion. Macy’s had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 14.22%. Macy’s’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Macy’s will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Macy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.1915 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.76%.

Macy’s Company Profile

Macy’s, Inc is a leading American omnichannel retailer operating under the Macy’s brand, as well as specialty divisions Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury. The company’s retail portfolio encompasses full-line department stores, fashion-focused specialty outlets and a high-end beauty chain, offering consumers a wide array of apparel, footwear, accessories, cosmetics and home furnishings. Through its integrated network of physical stores and digital platforms, Macy’s seeks to deliver a seamless shopping experience that blends in-store service with online convenience.

The company’s product assortment spans men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, beauty and personal care products, housewares and home décor.