Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 29,378 Shares of Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 815,150 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 29,378 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Healthcare Realty Trust worth $13,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HR. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 118.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,152 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797 shares in the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Healthcare Realty Trust by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 133,189 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,258,000 after buying an additional 6,608 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Healthcare Realty Trust by 289.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,552,109 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,308,000 after buying an additional 1,153,657 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp grew its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 55,333 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 43,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter.

Healthcare Realty Trust Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE HR traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.11. 6,297,769 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,497,274. Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $12.77 and a fifty-two week high of $18.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $16.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of -9.61 and a beta of 0.94.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 51.60% and a negative return on equity of 11.20%. The business had revenue of $309.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $303.81 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Healthcare Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently -69.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HR. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Healthcare Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.20.

Insider Transactions at Healthcare Realty Trust

In related news, COO Robert E. Hull sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $174,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 171,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,996,072. The trade was a 5.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Healthcare Realty Trust

Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc provides real estate investment services. It owns, leases, manages, acquires, finances, develops, and redevelops income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient healthcare services throughout the United States of America. The company was founded by David R.