Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 3,573 Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Dillard’s by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 352,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,975,000 after purchasing an additional 25,212 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Dillard’s by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 211,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,339,000 after buying an additional 20,155 shares during the last quarter. Clientfirst Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Dillard’s during the fourth quarter worth $48,873,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Dillard’s by 107.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 77,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,266,000 after acquiring an additional 39,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Dillard’s by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,377,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Dillard’s

In related news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total transaction of $130,035.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,836.15. This trade represents a 20.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DDS shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Dillard’s in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Dillard’s from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of DDS stock opened at $363.79 on Thursday. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 52 week low of $328.00 and a 52 week high of $510.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $423.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $417.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 2.38.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.84 by $3.64. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 32.13% and a net margin of 9.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $15.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is 2.71%.

About Dillard’s

Dillard’s, Inc engages in the retail of fashion apparel, cosmetics, and home furnishings, and other consumer goods. It operates through the Retail Operations and Construction segments. The Retail Operations segment comprises sells cosmetics, ladies’ apparel, ladies’ accessories and lingerie, juniors’ and children’s apparel, men’s apparel and accessories, shoes, and home and furniture products.