Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities were worth $1,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 14.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,415 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,947 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 5.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the third quarter worth $22,560,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 28.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. 96.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ARE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Alexandria Real Estate Equities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alexandria Real Estate Equities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.30.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Trading Up 0.1 %

Alexandria Real Estate Equities stock opened at $95.59 on Monday. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.25 and a 1 year high of $130.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $97.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.11, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.16.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $1.48. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 1.43%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 293.33%.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.