Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $18.57 Million Holdings in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,018,275 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 46,063 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Macerich were worth $18,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MAC. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Macerich by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 275,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,029,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Macerich by 0.6% in the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 154,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,810,000 after buying an additional 859 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 7.2% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Macerich by 40.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Macerich by 152.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. 87.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Macerich Stock Up 1.7 %

MAC opened at $20.58 on Friday. The Macerich Company has a twelve month low of $12.99 and a twelve month high of $22.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.31. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $208.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. Macerich’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Macerich Company will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio is currently 174.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Macerich presently has an average 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.