Norges Bank Invests $1.61 Billion in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,457,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,605,426,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 9.51% of Alexandria Real Estate Equities as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,343 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,453,000 after acquiring an additional 21,237 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 3,129.4% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 549 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 113.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 361,412 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,738,000 after buying an additional 48,622 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 121,648 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,446,000 after buying an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. 96.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $125.00 to $114.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.60.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARE traded down $2.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $91.98. 642,620 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,081,770. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.17. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.96 and a 52 week high of $130.14.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $1.48. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 1.43%. Analysts predict that Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.32 dividend. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Alexandria Real Estate Equities's dividend payout ratio is currently 293.33%.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Profile

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc NYSE: ARE, an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.