Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX - Free Report) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,615,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 44,485 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.86% of Brixmor Property Group worth $156,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group during the third quarter valued at about $776,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 161,926 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,511,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Brixmor Property Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 547,344 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,249,000 after acquiring an additional 6,514 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Brixmor Property Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 392,418 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Brixmor Property Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $669,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Brixmor Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of BRX stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $28.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,404,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,244,693. The stock has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.58. Brixmor Property Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.80 and a 12-month high of $30.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.63 and a 200 day moving average of $26.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $320.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $320.22 million. Brixmor Property Group had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 11.48%. Brixmor Property Group's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brixmor Property Group Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brixmor Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.287 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. This is a positive change from Brixmor Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Brixmor Property Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.48%.

Insider Activity at Brixmor Property Group

In other news, insider Steven F. Siegel sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.54, for a total transaction of $738,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 315,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,305,218.16. This represents a 7.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BRX shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Brixmor Property Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Brixmor Property Group from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Brixmor Property Group from $25.50 to $27.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.96.

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.