Bank of Montreal Can Acquires 44,670 Shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 192,727 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,670 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Regency Centers were worth $14,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in REG. FMR LLC grew its stake in Regency Centers by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,113,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,236,000 after purchasing an additional 293,668 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA grew its position in shares of Regency Centers by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 16,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Regency Centers by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 151,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,151,000 after buying an additional 5,225 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Regency Centers by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 117,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,664,000 after buying an additional 40,357 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Regency Centers by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 104,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,716,000 after acquiring an additional 48,924 shares in the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Regency Centers

In related news, CEO Lisa Palmer sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.26, for a total transaction of $1,831,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,923 shares in the company, valued at $10,250,758.98. The trade was a 15.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael J. Mas sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.60, for a total transaction of $1,472,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,000 shares of company stock worth $6,977,500. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Regency Centers Trading Up 1.4 %

Regency Centers stock opened at $69.40 on Friday. Regency Centers Co. has a one year low of $56.51 and a one year high of $78.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.68.

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

Regency Centers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. Regency Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on REG shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Regency Centers from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Regency Centers from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Regency Centers from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.00.

Regency Centers Company Profile

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.