Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 522,035 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $22,662,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of UDR as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of UDR during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of UDR during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of UDR by 5,335.3% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 924 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of UDR by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of UDR by 62.7% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,349 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UDR

In other UDR news, CEO Thomas W. Toomey sold 25,000 shares of UDR stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $1,068,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 824,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,256,609. The trade was a 2.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.73% of the company’s stock.

UDR Price Performance

UDR stock opened at $43.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 173.10, a PEG ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 5.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. UDR, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.14 and a 12-month high of $47.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.80.

UDR (NYSE:UDR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.53. UDR had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 2.65%. On average, analysts expect that UDR, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

UDR Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from UDR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. UDR’s payout ratio is 680.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UDR shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of UDR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $45.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of UDR from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Zelman & Associates reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of UDR in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of UDR from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of UDR from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.12.

About UDR

UDR, Inc (NYSE: UDR), an S&P 500 company, is a leading multifamily real estate investment trust with a demonstrated performance history of delivering superior and dependable returns by successfully managing, buying, selling, developing and redeveloping attractive real estate communities in targeted U.S.