Morgan Stanley Cuts Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Price Target to $19.00

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MAC. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Macerich from $16.70 to $14.40 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Macerich from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Macerich in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Macerich has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.37.

Macerich Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAC opened at $17.08 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.21. Macerich has a 52-week low of $12.99 and a 52-week high of $22.27. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Macerich’s payout ratio is currently -86.08%.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MAC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Macerich by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,617,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $769,260,000 after buying an additional 4,503,509 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Macerich by 87.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,047,786 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $439,192,000 after acquiring an additional 10,274,895 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Macerich by 845.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,051,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $200,222,000 after acquiring an additional 8,988,665 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,001,399 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $119,573,000 after purchasing an additional 574,490 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Macerich by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,171,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $103,012,000 after purchasing an additional 369,931 shares in the last quarter. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.