Insider Selling: The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Director Sells 63,289 Shares of Stock

The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) 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 transaction, the director now owns 83,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 accessible through this hyperlink.

Macerich Stock Performance

NYSE:MAC opened at $19.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.48. The Macerich Company has a 1 year low of $12.99 and a 1 year high of $22.27. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.90). Macerich had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $220.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Macerich Company will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Macerich’s payout ratio is currently 174.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MAC. Mizuho upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point lifted their price target on Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Macerich in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macerich

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 688,790 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 12,475.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,772,891 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $214,738,000 after acquiring an additional 11,679,276 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,426,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,004,000 after acquiring an additional 34,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 2.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,801,369 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $87,577,000 after acquiring an additional 113,128 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 4.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,217,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,675,000 after acquiring an additional 126,192 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.