Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Raises Holdings in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 82,684 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 9,746 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Macerich were worth $1,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Macerich by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 359,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,549,000 after buying an additional 87,611 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Macerich by 851.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 30,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 27,322 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in shares of Macerich by 742.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,695,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,924,000 after buying an additional 1,494,145 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Macerich in the 4th quarter worth $771,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Macerich by 314.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Macerich Price Performance

MAC opened at $17.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.27, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.25 and a 200-day moving average of $19.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The Macerich Company has a 1-year low of $12.99 and a 1-year high of $22.27.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Macerich’s payout ratio is currently -86.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Macerich

In related news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,120.51. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. This represents a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAC has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Macerich in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Macerich from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Macerich from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Macerich from $16.70 to $14.40 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Macerich currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.03.

Macerich Company Profile

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich’s portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, DC corridor.