Vert Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Vert Asset Management LLC boosted its position in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC - Free Report) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 14,228 shares during the quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC's holdings in Macerich were worth $2,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. increased 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 valued at $6,549,000 after acquiring an additional 87,611 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 851.9% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 30,529 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 27,322 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 742.3% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,695,420 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,924,000 after buying an additional 1,494,145 shares during the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 688,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Macerich during the fourth quarter valued at about $771,000. Institutional investors own 87.38% of the company's stock.

Macerich Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MAC traded down $0.21 on Friday, reaching $20.66. 1,137,571 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,662,545. The Macerich Company has a 12 month low of $12.99 and a 12 month high of $22.27. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $20.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.22. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.90). Macerich had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Macerich's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Macerich Company will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Macerich

In related news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,718,832.61. This trade represents a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MAC shares. Mizuho raised Macerich from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Macerich from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Macerich in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Macerich from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.30.

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.