Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Stake in Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 161,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,925,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of REG. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Regency Centers by 104.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 10,221 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Regency Centers by 196.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 36,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,680,000 after buying an additional 24,003 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in Regency Centers in the third quarter worth about $719,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Regency Centers by 47.3% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 29,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,121,000 after buying an additional 9,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Regency Centers by 9.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 105,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,615,000 after buying an additional 8,959 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Regency Centers Price Performance

Shares of Regency Centers stock opened at $72.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.92 and a 200 day moving average of $73.01. Regency Centers Co. has a 12 month low of $56.51 and a 12 month high of $78.18. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.61. Regency Centers had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 27.54%. On average, research analysts expect that Regency Centers Co. will post 4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regency Centers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.705 per share. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Regency Centers’s payout ratio is presently 133.02%.

Insider Activity at Regency Centers

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Regency Centers from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Mizuho upped their price target on Regency Centers from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Regency Centers from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on Regency Centers from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.08.

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.