Virtu Financial LLC Increases Position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE)

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) by 113.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,645 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 16,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 7,070 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the 4th quarter worth about $968,000. Hahn Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 68,370 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,669,000 after buying an additional 22,926 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management boosted its position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 841,435 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,023,000 after buying an additional 32,367 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 903,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,140,000 after acquiring an additional 42,825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.54% of the company’s stock.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Performance

ARE stock opened at $95.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a one year low of $93.25 and a one year high of $130.14. The firm has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.31, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.17.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $1.48. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 1.43%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 293.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARE. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $125.00 to $114.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.60.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.