California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Holdings in UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR - Free Report) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 553,545 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 57,089 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.17% of UDR worth $24,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of UDR by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 962,310 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,447,000 after buying an additional 67,288 shares during the period. Allstate Corp lifted its position in shares of UDR by 184.5% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 70,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,046,000 after purchasing an additional 45,499 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of UDR by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 51,829 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in UDR by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 483,824 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $21,003,000 after acquiring an additional 18,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UDR in the fourth quarter worth about $3,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.84% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at UDR

In other news, CEO Thomas W. Toomey sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $1,068,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 824,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,256,609. This trade represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on UDR. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on UDR from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of UDR from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of UDR in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on UDR from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on UDR from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.12.

UDR Stock Performance

NYSE:UDR traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 765,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,113. UDR, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.14 and a 12 month high of $47.55. The firm has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.33 and a 200-day moving average of $43.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a current ratio of 5.61.

UDR (NYSE:UDR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.53. UDR had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 2.65%. Research analysts expect that UDR, Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UDR Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. This is a boost from UDR's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. UDR's payout ratio is currently 688.00%.

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.