Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,239,182 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $23,396,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 1.57% of UMH Properties at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in UMH Properties by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,506,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $141,722,000 after purchasing an additional 799,798 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UMH Properties by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,828,469 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $53,401,000 after purchasing an additional 67,353 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in UMH Properties by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,992,420 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $37,617,000 after buying an additional 48,480 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UMH Properties by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838,555 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,719,000 after buying an additional 134,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in UMH Properties by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,462,585 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,614,000 after buying an additional 145,310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UMH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised UMH Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of UMH Properties in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UMH Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.17.

UMH Properties Trading Up 1.1 %

UMH stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.48. 314,238 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 428,723. UMH Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.73 and a 12-month high of $20.64. The company has a quick ratio of 8.48, a current ratio of 8.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 133.97, 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. The company had revenue of ($126.74) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.73 million. UMH Properties had a return on equity of 6.06% and a net margin of 11.81%. On average, equities research analysts predict that UMH Properties, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. This is a positive change from UMH Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. UMH Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 3,000.00%.

UMH Properties Profile

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.