Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Position in UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Free Report) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,838,555 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 134,761 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.33% of UMH Properties worth $34,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in UMH Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,396,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 44.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,802,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,127,000 after acquiring an additional 863,089 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UMH Properties by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,506,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $141,722,000 after purchasing an additional 799,798 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in UMH Properties in the third quarter worth about $4,421,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UMH Properties by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 375,919 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,097,000 after purchasing an additional 178,426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of UMH Properties in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of UMH Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.17.

UMH Properties Stock Up 1.6 %

UMH traded up $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.31. 489,579 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,060. UMH Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.73 and a 12-month high of $20.64. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $17.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.47. The company has a current ratio of 8.48, a quick ratio of 8.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.13, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.21. UMH Properties had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 6.06%. The business had revenue of ($126.74) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.73 million. Analysts predict that UMH Properties, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.225 dividend. This is a boost from UMH Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.20%. UMH Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 3,000.00%.

About UMH Properties

UMH Properties, Inc, which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities containing approximately 25,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.