Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Holdings in STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG - Free Report) by 114.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 797,457 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 425,362 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.44% of STAG Industrial worth $26,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in STAG Industrial by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 128,794 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,356,000 after purchasing an additional 25,354 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA increased its position in STAG Industrial by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 10,687 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in STAG Industrial by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 66,445 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,372 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of STAG Industrial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 58,691 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,985,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in STAG Industrial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 241,940 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,182,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STAG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on STAG Industrial from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of STAG Industrial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on STAG Industrial from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.14.

Insider Transactions at STAG Industrial

In related news, Director Benjamin S. Butcher sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total transaction of $1,755,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,083.20. This trade represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

STAG Industrial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STAG traded down $1.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $30.39. 646,055 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,181,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. STAG Industrial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.61 and a 52-week high of $41.63. The company has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.94 and a 200 day moving average of $35.65.

STAG Industrial (NYSE:STAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.43. STAG Industrial had a return on equity of 5.51% and a net margin of 24.64%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that STAG Industrial, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

STAG Industrial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.1242 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.25%. This is a boost from STAG Industrial's previous dividend of $0.12. STAG Industrial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 143.27%.

STAG Industrial Profile

STAG Industrial, Inc is a real estate investment company, which engages in acquiring, owning, and managing single-tenant, industrial real estate assets. It offers industrial real estate operating platform to real estate ownership. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.