Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 199,311 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $5,549,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Brixmor Property Group by 3.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,959,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $138,185,000 after purchasing an additional 159,388 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 34.5% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,563 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 6,817 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Brixmor Property Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $136,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Brixmor Property Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $394,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Brixmor Property Group by 136.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,068,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,773,000 after buying an additional 617,341 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brixmor Property Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE BRX opened at $26.09 on Tuesday. Brixmor Property Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.80 and a 1 year high of $30.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.63 and a 200 day moving average of $27.58. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.59.

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.31. Brixmor Property Group had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brixmor Property Group Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brixmor Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. This is an increase from Brixmor Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Brixmor Property Group’s payout ratio is 103.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Brixmor Property Group from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Brixmor Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded Brixmor Property Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.56.

Brixmor Property Group Company Profile

Brixmor Property Group, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in owning and operating a portfolio of grocery anchored community and neighborhood shopping centers. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in New York, NY.