Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stake in Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX) by 44.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,687,226 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,935,175 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Brixmor Property Group were worth $200,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,049 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 30,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 8,778 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Brixmor Property Group during the fourth quarter worth $4,184,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Brixmor Property Group during the fourth quarter worth $73,143,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 24,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Brixmor Property Group from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Brixmor Property Group from $24.00 to $25.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on Brixmor Property Group from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Brixmor Property Group from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Brixmor Property Group from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.38.

Insider Transactions at Brixmor Property Group

In other news, Director Sheryl Maxwell Crosland sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.45, for a total transaction of $127,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,178,105.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sheryl Maxwell Crosland sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.45, for a total transaction of $127,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,178,105.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven F. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $240,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 360,004 shares in the company, valued at $8,640,096. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Brixmor Property Group Price Performance

Shares of BRX opened at $28.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.52. The company has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. Brixmor Property Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.46 and a fifty-two week high of $28.38.

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.29). Brixmor Property Group had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 23.45%. The company had revenue of $315.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Brixmor Property Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Brixmor Property Group Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Brixmor Property Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Brixmor Property Group’s payout ratio is currently 117.20%.

About Brixmor Property Group

Brixmor (NYSE: BRX) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 362 retail centers comprise approximately 64 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas. The Company strives to own and operate shopping centers that reflect Brixmor's vision to be the center of the communities we serve and are home to a diverse mix of thriving national, regional and local retailers.