Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) Shares Acquired by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG - Free Report) by 53.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,728 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Regency Centers were worth $793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Regency Centers by 104.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,038 shares of the company's stock worth $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 10,221 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Regency Centers in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,499,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Regency Centers by 196.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 36,245 shares of the company's stock worth $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 24,003 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Regency Centers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $567,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Regency Centers by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,090,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $801,056,000 after purchasing an additional 435,932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on REG shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Regency Centers from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Regency Centers from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Regency Centers from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.00.

Regency Centers Price Performance

Shares of REG stock traded up $1.45 on Friday, reaching $71.66. 635,249 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,058,103. The company has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.03. Regency Centers Co. has a 1 year low of $58.08 and a 1 year high of $78.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.61. Regency Centers had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 27.54%. Equities research analysts forecast that Regency Centers Co. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regency Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Regency Centers's payout ratio is 133.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Martin E. Stein, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total transaction of $3,674,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 110,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,102,125.24. This trade represents a 31.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael J. Mas sold 20,000 shares of Regency Centers stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.60, for a total transaction of $1,472,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,020 shares in the company, valued at $3,975,872. This trade represents a 27.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,977,500 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Regency Centers

Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. Our portfolio includes thriving properties merchandised with highly productive grocers, restaurants, service providers, and best-in-class retailers that connect to their neighborhoods, communities, and customers.