Empowered Funds LLC Invests $466,000 in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 23,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $466,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Macerich by 32.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Macerich by 851.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in Macerich by 742.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Macerich by 3.5% in 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 buying an additional 688,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Macerich in the fourth quarter worth approximately $771,000. Institutional investors own 87.38% of the company's stock.

Macerich Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAC traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.83. The stock had a trading volume of 381,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,597. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $20.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.70. The Macerich Company has a twelve month low of $12.99 and a twelve month high of $22.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 50.85, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.50.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Macerich's payout ratio is 174.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Macerich news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. This trade represents a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MAC shares. Mizuho raised shares of Macerich from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Macerich in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Macerich from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Macerich from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Macerich presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.30.

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.