Exploring The Macerich Company (MAC) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at The Macerich Company (MAC) and wondering who's still buying into the mall Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) story, and honestly, the answer is the biggest players in the game. The investor profile is overwhelmingly institutional, with ownership recently clocking in at around 100.20% of shares outstanding as of November 2025, which tells you this isn't a retail-driven stock; it's a battleground for giants like BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. who hold tens of millions of shares each. What's driving their conviction, even with the stock trading near $16.60 per share in mid-November 2025? It's a bet on the turnaround, evidenced by the Q3 2025 results showing Funds From Operations (FFO) at $0.35 per share and the go-forward portfolio occupancy rate climbing to 94.3%, plus a 1.7% year-over-year jump in Net Operating Income (NOI). These institutions are buying because the underlying retail real estate fundamentals-specifically, high-quality, high-traffic malls-are showing real, measurable recovery, not just hope. The question is, are they right about the near-term risk/reward, or is the institutional concentration a warning sign of a crowded trade?

Who Invests in The Macerich Company (MAC) and Why?

You're looking at The Macerich Company (MAC), a retail Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), and the first thing to understand is that this is overwhelmingly an institutional play, not a retail one. The direct takeaway is that the vast majority of capital-around 98.12% of the outstanding shares-is held by large institutions like asset managers and pension funds, not individual investors.

This means the stock price movement and long-term stability are dictated by the strategic decisions of giants like BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. Retail investors, honestly, hold a negligible portion, close to 0.00%. It's a game of big money betting on a turnaround.

Key Investor Types: The Institutional Giants

The Macerich Company's investor base is a classic example of institutional dominance, which is typical for a REIT undergoing a complex transformation. These large holders are generally split into three main groups: passive index funds, active asset managers, and a small but influential group of hedge funds or activist investors.

The largest shareholders as of the 2025 fiscal year are primarily passive managers. For instance, Vanguard Group Inc. holds over 38.6 million shares, and BlackRock, Inc. owns more than 44.3 million shares. They hold The Macerich Company because it's a component of major real estate or small-cap indices. They have to buy it. Plus, you have significant ownership from the Teachers Pension Plan Board Ontario, which is classified as an insider/major shareholder, holding a massive 67.8 million shares, representing 26.50% of the company.

• Passive Funds: Hold for index tracking, driving baseline demand.
• Active Managers: Seek alpha (outperformance) from the turnaround story.
• Insiders/Major Shareholders: Long-term strategic investors like pension funds.

Here's the quick math on the top institutional holdings, showing where the real power lies:

Investment Motivations: Yield and Turnaround Value

The primary motivations for holding The Macerich Company stock boil down to two core factors: a compelling dividend yield and the potential for capital appreciation from a successful strategic pivot. This is a classic value-investing setup in the REIT space.

Dividend Income: The Macerich Company's status as a REIT means it must distribute a large portion of its taxable income to shareholders. For the 2025 fiscal year, the annual dividend is $0.68 per share, translating to a forward dividend yield of around 4.16% to 4.20%. That stable, quarterly cash flow is defintely attractive to pension funds and income-focused mutual funds, especially in a volatile market.

Growth and De-risking: The real excitement comes from the 'Path Forward' plan, which aims to simplify the business and reduce leverage. In Q1 2025, the company showed strong operational signs: revenue exceeded expectations at $249.22 million, and Funds From Operations (FFO) reached $0.33 per share in Q2 2025. The company is improving its balance sheet, cutting its Debt-to-EBITDA ratio from 8.7x to 7.9x, with a goal to reach the low-to-mid-6s by 2028. Strong leasing activity is also a key indicator, with new deal leasing spreads hitting 22% in the trailing 12 months as of Q1 2025. You can find a deeper dive into these numbers in Breaking Down The Macerich Company (MAC) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Investment Strategies: The Value Play

The dominant strategy here is a long-term, value-oriented approach, often referred to as a 'turnaround play.' Investors are betting that the company's high-quality, densely-populated mall portfolio will successfully transition to mixed-use destinations, driving higher sales and rents.

• Long-Term Value Investing: Active managers, like Smead Capital Management Inc., are holding for the multi-year transformation. They see the current stock price as undervalued relative to the estimated $2.00 per share FFO target expected around 2028, which could push the stock toward $30 per share.
• Income Investing: The stable quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share is the primary driver for income-focused REIT funds. They are essentially buying a bond-like instrument with equity upside.
• Short-Term Trading: The stock's high price volatility, indicated by a beta of 2.11, means it moves more than twice as much as the overall market. This volatility attracts short-term traders and quantitative funds looking to capitalize on rapid price swings, though the overall institutional sentiment is a 'Hold.'

The key action for you is to monitor the debt reduction progress and the same-center Net Operating Income (NOI) growth. If the company hits its leverage targets and keeps those leasing spreads high, the long-term value thesis holds up.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of The Macerich Company (MAC)

You want to know who is buying The Macerich Company (MAC) and why, and the short answer is that the institutional money is still heavily invested, but it is moving around. As of late 2025, institutional investors-the large funds, banks, and endowments-own a massive portion of the company, holding approximately 87.38% of the stock. That ownership concentration means their collective decisions directly drive the stock price and management's strategic focus.

The institutional profile for The Macerich Company is dominated by the giants of asset management. Firms like BlackRock, Inc., Vanguard Group Inc, and State Street Corp are consistently among the largest holders. Their stakes are often tied to passively managed index funds (like the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, IJR), which means they buy and hold based on the index's composition, but active managers also hold significant sway.

Here is a snapshot of some of the largest institutional stakes, showing the sheer scale of their investment in the company:

Recent Shifts: Are Institutions Buying or Selling MAC?

The data for the 2025 fiscal year shows a mixed, but slightly net negative, picture for institutional accumulation. Overall, for the 13F-cycle ending September 2025, institutional share volume saw a quarterly shift of roughly -9.18%, indicating net selling. Still, this isn't a uniform retreat; it's a reallocation of capital, which is what you'd expect in a real estate investment trust (REIT) turnaround story.

We see a clear divergence between institutions selling down and others increasing their exposure, which points to a debate over the company's 'Path Forward' strategy.

• Buyers: Some funds are aggressively increasing their positions, betting on the turnaround. For instance, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its shares by a massive 528.3% as of mid-August 2025. Also, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake by 26.7% in the second quarter of 2025.
• Sellers: Other institutions are reducing their risk exposure. For example, Barclays PLC cut its holdings by -38.6% in November 2025. Smead Capital Management Inc. also saw an -11.8% quarterly change in shares as of August 2025.

This tells me that while the passive money is stable, active managers are deciding whether Macerich's recovery is priced correctly. Some see a deep value opportunity; others see too much risk in the current environment.

Investor Influence on Strategy and Stock Performance

Institutional investors don't just hold stock; they exert pressure that shapes corporate strategy. For The Macerich Company, the primary concern driving investor dialogue in 2025 has been the company's high leverage, or debt load.

So, the company's management is executing a strategy directly aimed at appeasing these large shareholders. The 'Path Forward' plan is all about simplifying the business, improving operations, and, most critically, reducing that leverage. This has translated into concrete actions:

• Asset Dispositions: The company has completed over $1.1 billion in disposition sales since the start of the plan, including the sale of assets like Lakewood Center and Atlas Park in Q3 2025. This is a direct move to pay down debt and improve the balance sheet.
• Leasing Momentum: The focus on operational performance is clear, with 2.6 million square feet of leases signed in Q1 2025 alone, which is more than double the volume from the same quarter in the prior year. This leasing success is what justifies the investment thesis for the active buyers.
• Dividend Signal: The management's decision to maintain the quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, even with a Q3 2025 net loss of $87.4 million, is a powerful signal to the institutional base that the company remains committed to shareholder returns, defintely a key factor for REIT investors.

The institutional ownership structure essentially dictates that the company must prioritize debt reduction and operational improvements to maintain confidence. You can read more about the long-term goals that underpin these actions in their Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of The Macerich Company (MAC).

Key Investors and Their Impact on The Macerich Company (MAC)

You're looking at The Macerich Company (MAC) and trying to figure out who's really calling the shots behind the scenes, and the answer is clear: it's the massive institutional funds. These aren't just passive holdings; their size dictates the company's strategic focus, especially the critical debt reduction plan.

The Macerich Company (MAC) is overwhelmingly owned by institutions, with their holdings representing roughly 99.3% of the company's shares as of late 2025, or even a reported 100.20% institutional ownership as of November 20, 2025, which reflects the high concentration of shares held by funds versus the public float. This means that a handful of colossal asset managers hold the keys to The Macerich Company (MAC)'s governance.

Here's the quick math: when firms like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. own over a third of the stock, their votes on major issues-like board appointments or strategic direction-are defintely what matters.

The Big Three and a Key Insider

The top shareholders are the usual suspects in the institutional world, but their sheer scale here is striking. The three largest institutional holders alone control over 40% of the company's stock.

The single largest shareholder, however, is not a traditional passive fund but the Teachers Pension Plan Board Ontario, which holds an enormous 26.50% stake, valued at approximately $1.17 billion as of late 2025. This is a significant 'insider' stake that gives them outsized influence, often categorized as an insider due to its size and long-term strategic nature.

The largest institutional holders, based on Q3 2025 filings, look like this:

Investor Influence: Driving the Path Forward

The primary way these investors impact The Macerich Company (MAC) right now is by pushing for the 'Path Forward' strategy. Honestly, the market has been demanding a stronger balance sheet for years, and the current plan is a direct response to that pressure.

The main focus is on reducing the company's leverage. At the end of the third quarter of 2025, the net debt to EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) stood at 7.76x. The management's public goal, which is essentially the mandate from its large shareholders, is to drive this down to the low to mid-6x range over the next few years. This is a clear, investor-driven action plan.

• Demand lower debt: Investors want to see the balance sheet de-risked.
• Support asset sales: The company announced $1.2 billion of assets for sale, closed, or in renegotiation to fund this debt reduction.
• Focus on quality: The strategy centers on the highest-quality malls, which is a key long-term thesis for holders like Smead Capital Management, Inc.

If you're interested in the history and business model that led to this ownership structure, you can read more about The Macerich Company (MAC): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Recent Moves: Buying, Selling, and ATM Activity

Recent trading activity shows a mixed picture, which is typical for a company undergoing a turnaround. While the big passive funds mostly maintain their positions, some active investors are making notable moves.

For example, the State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D significantly increased its stake in the second quarter of 2025, growing its position by 26.7%. This suggests a belief in the company's turnaround and its high-quality mall portfolio.

On the flip side, the company itself has been raising capital through its At-The-Market (ATM) program, which increases the share count and can put pressure on the stock price. In the third quarter of 2025, The Macerich Company (MAC) sold 2.8 million shares of common stock for approximately $50 million of net proceeds, at a weighted average price of $18.03 per share. This is a tactical move to fund their debt reduction plan, but it's essentially selling equity to pay down debt.

Also, insider selling has been noted in the three months leading up to the Q3 2025 filings, with the Chief Accounting Officer and a Director selling shares. While the CEO, Jackson Hsieh, has a significant stake and is committed to the plan, a bit of insider selling can still raise eyebrows and is something to monitor.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

You're looking at The Macerich Company (MAC) and wondering who's buying and why, especially with the retail real estate sector still navigating a complex environment. The direct takeaway is that while institutional sentiment is mostly neutral-a consensus 'Hold' rating-the large, long-term players like pension funds and major asset managers are maintaining, and in some cases, actively increasing their stakes, signaling a belief in the company's turnaround plan.

Institutional investors hold the vast majority of the stock, with ownership sitting at roughly 87.38%. This isn't a stock driven by retail day traders; it's a battleground for big money. The single largest shareholder is Teachers Pension Plan Board Ontario, which holds a commanding 26.50% stake, valued at approximately $1.17 billion. That's a massive, long-term vote of confidence, not a quick trade.

The sentiment is cautious, but it's not panicky. Honestly, the market is waiting for the company's 'Path Forward' strategy to fully materialize. You can get a deeper dive into the company's background and strategy here: The Macerich Company (MAC): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Recent Market Reactions to Ownership Shifts

The stock market's response to ownership changes in 2025 has been mixed, but generally positive on news that validates the company's strategic shift. For example, in the third quarter of 2025, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. significantly increased its position, boosting its shares to 6.13 million, a jump of over 40.1%. This kind of aggressive accumulation by a respected fund manager definitely gets noticed.

The market also showed a good reaction to the Q3 2025 earnings report. On November 4, 2025, the stock price rose by 2.08% to $17.34 in aftermarket trading, reflecting investor optimism about leasing momentum. This happened even though the reported Funds From Operations (FFO) of $0.35 per share slightly missed the $0.36 consensus estimate. The revenue beat-$253.3 million reported versus the $246.77 million forecast-was what really mattered to investors, showing the core business is getting stronger.

Here's the quick math on why institutional buying matters: when a fund like Nuveen opens a new position worth about $32.6 million (as they did in Q2 2025), it signals that their due diligence points to a compelling value proposition. You see money flowing in on the belief that the portfolio of premium malls is undervalued.

Analyst Perspectives on Key Investors' Impact

The analyst community views the strong institutional backing as a stabilizing force, but they are realists about the challenges. The consensus rating from 11 analysts as of November 2025 is a 'Hold'. The average 12-month price target is set at $19.67. That suggests a modest upside from the November 2025 stock price of around $16.60 per share.

The mixed ratings show the internal debate: is The Macerich Company a deep-value play or a challenged REIT? Bank of America, for instance, upgraded the stock to a 'Buy' with a price objective of $23.00, believing in the company's strategy to reposition its assets. But still, JPMorgan Chase & Co. maintains an 'underweight' rating, even after raising their price target to $19.00.

What this estimate hides is the high leverage. The company's net debt to Adjusted EBITDA stood at 7.76 times at the end of Q3 2025. That's a high number, and it's why analysts keep a cautious 'Hold' even with a positive outlook on leasing. The big funds are betting the aggressive capital-recycling program-like the sale of the Wilton Mall for $25 million in Q1 2025-will bring that leverage down and unlock value.

The key for you is to watch the metrics that the big investors are watching:

• Track occupancy rates, which hit 94.3% in the go-forward portfolio in Q3 2025.
• Monitor the leasing pipeline, which is expected to contribute about $25 million in incremental revenue in 2025.
• Look for defintely more asset sales to reduce the 7.76x leverage.

Your next step should be to model how a reduction in the debt-to-EBITDA ratio to the company's target of low to mid-six times would impact the discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation of the stock.