The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its position in shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,145,921 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 651,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Macerich were worth $39,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MAC. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Macerich by 32.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 359,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,549,000 after buying an additional 87,611 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Macerich by 851.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 30,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 27,322 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings 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 valued at $30,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,145 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Macerich during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,625,000. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Macerich by 3.5% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,433,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $372,706,000 after purchasing an additional 688,790 shares during the last quarter. 87.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Macerich Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Macerich stock opened at $20.54 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The Macerich Company has a 52-week low of $12.99 and a 52-week high of $22.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.90). Macerich had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.54 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Macerich Company will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on MAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Macerich from $13.00 to $14.60 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Macerich from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.24.

Insider Activity 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 value of $1,303,120.51. Following the sale, the director now owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Macerich 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.