Vanderbilt University Increases Stock Holdings in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC)

Vanderbilt University lifted its stake in shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,399 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,866 shares during the quarter. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Macerich were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Macerich by 152.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Macerich by 40.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares during the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC boosted its position in shares of Macerich by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 11,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Macerich by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Macerich

In related news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $1,303,120.51. Following the sale, the director now owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,718,832.61. This represents a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MAC shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Macerich from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Macerich from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Macerich presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.30.

Macerich Stock Performance

Shares of MAC stock opened at $20.71 on Thursday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.36. The company has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.50. The Macerich Company has a 12-month low of $12.99 and a 12-month high of $22.27.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $220.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.54 million. Macerich had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Macerich Company will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

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.