Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 46,063 Shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,018,275 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 46,063 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.47% of Macerich worth $18,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Macerich by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,672,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $597,400,000 after buying an additional 193,787 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Macerich by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,217,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,675,000 after acquiring an additional 126,192 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Macerich by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,233,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,047,000 after acquiring an additional 116,200 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Macerich by 1,845.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,168,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Macerich by 153.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 791,903 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,227,000 after purchasing an additional 478,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

Macerich Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAC opened at $19.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 49.36, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The Macerich Company has a 1-year low of $10.75 and a 1-year high of $20.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.94 and its 200-day moving average is $16.15.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.90). Macerich had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $220.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.54 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Macerich Company will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. Macerich’s payout ratio is currently 174.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Macerich from $13.00 to $14.60 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Macerich from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Macerich presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.40.

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.