The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Position in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 30.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,532 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,107 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Dillard’s were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 38.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 29,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,785,000 after buying an additional 8,051 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Dillard’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $534,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Dillard’s by 1.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in Dillard’s during the second quarter worth about $1,854,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in Dillard’s during the second quarter worth about $426,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DDS shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $202.00 to $194.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Activity at Dillard’s

In related news, Director Robert C. Connor bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $346.82 per share, for a total transaction of $34,682.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 78,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,051,960. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 33.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

NYSE:DDS opened at $364.53 on Friday. Dillard’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $286.39 and a fifty-two week high of $476.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 3.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $361.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $405.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 0.85.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $4.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.97 by ($1.38). Dillard’s had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 34.29%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 31.2 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.27%.

Dillard’s Company Profile

Dillard's, Inc operates retail department stores in the southeastern, southwestern, and midwestern areas of the United States. The company's stores offer merchandise, including fashion apparel for women, men, and children; and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods.