Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Macy’s (NYSE:M)

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 42,968 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 56% compared to the average daily volume of 27,492 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on M. New Street Research set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Macy’s in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Benchmark raised shares of Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $15.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.30.

Macy’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:M opened at $13.57 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Macy’s has a 12 month low of $12.60 and a 12 month high of $22.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.61 and a 200 day moving average of $15.37.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.25. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.76 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Macy’s will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.1824 dividend. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.38%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 35.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy’s

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Macy’s by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Macy’s by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 120,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Macy’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 102,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Macy’s by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Macy’s by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 80,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.