Macy's Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:M)

Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 42,968 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 56% compared to the typical volume of 27,492 call options.

Macy's Stock Down 0.1 %

M traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,493,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,973,801. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.17. Macy's has a 12 month low of $12.60 and a 12 month high of $21.31. The business's fifty day moving average price is $14.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.34. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67 and a beta of 2.07.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.76 billion. Macy's had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. Equities analysts anticipate that Macy's will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Macy's Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1824 per share. This is a positive change from Macy's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Macy's's dividend payout ratio is 35.44%.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Macy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Macy's in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Benchmark raised shares of Macy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Macy's from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Macy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Macy's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.30.

Institutional Trading of Macy's

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in M. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Macy's by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Macy's by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 120,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,039,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Macy's by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 102,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Macy's by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Macy's by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 80,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Macy's Company Profile

Macy's, Inc engages in the retail of apparel, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. The firm's brands include Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Bluemercury. It offers men's, women's, and children's apparel, women's accessories, intimate apparel, shoes, cosmetics, fragrances, as well as home and miscellaneous products.