Brokerages Set Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) Price Target at $82.08

Shares of Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.31.

A number of equities analysts have commented on BXP shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Boston Properties from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Boston Properties from $89.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Boston Properties from $93.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Boston Properties from $88.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wedbush lowered shares of Boston Properties from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Boston Properties Stock Performance

BXP opened at $65.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 655.57, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.43 and a 200 day moving average of $76.73. Boston Properties has a fifty-two week low of $56.46 and a fifty-two week high of $90.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 5.51 and a current ratio of 5.69.

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $1.28. Boston Properties had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 3.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Boston Properties will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boston Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.98%. Boston Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3,920.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Hilary J. Spann sold 12,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total value of $891,535.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,657.42. The trade was a 63.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna D. Garesche sold 2,143 shares of Boston Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.87, for a total transaction of $145,445.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in shares of Boston Properties by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 170,504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,679,000 after buying an additional 18,900 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Boston Properties by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 49,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,966,000 after buying an additional 6,687 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Boston Properties by 198.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 149,156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,091,000 after buying an additional 99,248 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Boston Properties by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 70,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,238,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Boston Properties by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 8,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

About Boston Properties

Boston Properties, Inc (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years.