Vestcor Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Vestcor Inc reduced its position in shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 60.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 76,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 117,667 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Macerich were worth $1,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 359,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,549,000 after purchasing an additional 87,611 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 851.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 30,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 27,322 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 742.3% during 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. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Macerich during the 4th quarter worth $771,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 314.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. 87.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Macerich from $16.70 to $14.40 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Macerich from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Macerich from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Macerich in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $1,303,120.51. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,718,832.61. This represents a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Macerich Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MAC opened at $16.47 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.03. The Macerich Company has a twelve month low of $12.99 and a twelve month high of $22.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.62.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Macerich’s payout ratio is currently -86.08%.

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.