The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Director Sells $1,303,120.51 in Stock

The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report) Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,120.51. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. This represents a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Macerich Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:MAC traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.96. 734,611 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,882,782. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.39. The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.18, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The Macerich Company has a fifty-two week low of $12.99 and a fifty-two week high of $22.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.54 million. Macerich had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 3.15%. The company's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Macerich Company will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Macerich's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 174.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macerich

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Macerich by 32.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Macerich by 851.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 30,529 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 27,322 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in 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 worth $30,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,145 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in Macerich during the second quarter worth approximately $10,625,000. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $372,706,000 after purchasing an additional 688,790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MAC shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho raised shares of Macerich from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Macerich from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Macerich currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.86.

About Macerich

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.