Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 21,719 Shares of Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,688,070 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,719 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Brixmor Property Group were worth $297,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Brixmor Property Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 124.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 938 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Brixmor Property Group by 140.9% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BRX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Brixmor Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Brixmor Property Group from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Brixmor Property Group from $31.75 to $31.25 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Brixmor Property Group from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.48.

Brixmor Property Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of BRX opened at $26.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.53. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.59. Brixmor Property Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.80 and a 12 month high of $30.67.

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.31. Brixmor Property Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 26.40%. Equities analysts predict that Brixmor Property Group Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brixmor Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. This is a boost from Brixmor Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Brixmor Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.60%.

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.