BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 145,559 Shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) by 59.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 388,561 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 145,559 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.21% of Regency Centers worth $28,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Regency Centers during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. National Pension Service bought a new stake in Regency Centers in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in Regency Centers by 48,700.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 488 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in Regency Centers during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Regency Centers during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Regency Centers

In other Regency Centers news, CEO Lisa Palmer sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.26, for a total transaction of $1,831,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 139,923 shares in the company, valued at $10,250,758.98. This trade represents a 15.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael J. Mas sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.60, for a total value of $1,472,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,020 shares in the company, valued at $3,975,872. This trade represents a 27.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,977,500. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on REG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Regency Centers from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Regency Centers from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.08.

Regency Centers Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ REG opened at $71.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.02. Regency Centers Co. has a 1 year low of $58.19 and a 1 year high of $78.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Regency Centers had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 27.54%. The business had revenue of $370.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.64 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Regency Centers Co. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regency Centers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.705 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Regency Centers’s dividend payout ratio is 133.02%.

About Regency Centers

Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. Our portfolio includes thriving properties merchandised with highly productive grocers, restaurants, service providers, and best-in-class retailers that connect to their neighborhoods, communities, and customers.