Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX - Free Report) by 30.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 697,482 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 305,735 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Brixmor Property Group worth $19,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,324,870 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $169,131,000 after buying an additional 1,995,299 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 35.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,735,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $132,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501,282 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,615,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $156,473,000 after purchasing an additional 44,485 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,959,993 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $138,185,000 after purchasing an additional 159,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,804,746 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $110,940,000 after purchasing an additional 396,242 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Brixmor Property Group

In other news, insider Steven F. Siegel sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.54, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Brixmor Property Group Trading Down 0.6 %

BRX stock traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $27.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,696,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,254,708. The firm has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.59. Brixmor Property Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.80 and a 12-month high of $30.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Brixmor Property Group had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 25.81%. The company had revenue of $320.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $320.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brixmor Property Group Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Brixmor Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.287 per share. This is an increase from Brixmor Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Brixmor Property Group's dividend payout ratio is 106.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRX has been the subject of several research reports. Compass Point upped their target price on Brixmor Property Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Brixmor Property Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Brixmor Property Group from $25.50 to $27.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Brixmor Property Group from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Brixmor Property Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.19.

Brixmor Property Group Profile

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.