Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 1,183 Shares of LTC Properties, Inc. (NYSE:LTC)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in LTC Properties, Inc. (NYSE:LTC) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,183 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in LTC Properties were worth $636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LTC. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of LTC Properties by 148.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,228,000 after purchasing an additional 52,619 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of LTC Properties by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 229,176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,408,000 after purchasing an additional 14,778 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LTC Properties by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,683,000 after buying an additional 30,422 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LTC Properties in the third quarter valued at $679,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in LTC Properties by 312.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 332,173 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,187,000 after buying an additional 251,609 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LTC. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of LTC Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of LTC Properties in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at LTC Properties

In related news, insider Clint B. Malin sold 6,000 shares of LTC Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $232,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,145,168.75. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David L. Gruber acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $37.16 per share, with a total value of $111,480.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,516 shares in the company, valued at $799,534.56. The trade was a 16.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

LTC Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LTC opened at $34.44 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.29 and its 200-day moving average is $36.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.91. LTC Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.30 and a 1-year high of $39.89. The company has a current ratio of 11.60, a quick ratio of 11.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.05). LTC Properties had a return on equity of 10.49% and a net margin of 48.77%. The firm had revenue of $55.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that LTC Properties, Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

LTC Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.62%. LTC Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.85%.

LTC Properties Company Profile

LTC is a real estate investment trust (REIT) investing in seniors housing and health care properties primarily through sale-leasebacks, mortgage financing, joint-ventures and structured finance solutions including preferred equity and mezzanine lending. LTC's investment portfolio includes 201 properties in 26 states with 29 operating partners.