First Trust Advisors LP Has $6.42 Million Holdings in Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,907 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Regency Centers were worth $6,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Regency Centers during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,262,425,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Regency Centers by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,141,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $823,711,000 after acquiring an additional 51,424 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Regency Centers by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,182,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,873,000 after acquiring an additional 366,427 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Regency Centers by 121.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,374,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,333,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Regency Centers by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,568,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,955,000 after purchasing an additional 86,644 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Regency Centers

In other news, Chairman Martin E. Stein, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $3,674,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 110,263 shares in the company, valued at $8,102,125.24. This represents a 31.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael J. Mas sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,975,872. The trade was a 27.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,000 shares of company stock worth $6,977,500. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on REG shares. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Regency Centers from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Regency Centers from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Regency Centers from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.08.

Regency Centers Stock Performance

Shares of Regency Centers stock opened at $71.85 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Regency Centers Co. has a one year low of $58.08 and a one year high of $78.18.

Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Regency Centers had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 27.54%. The company had revenue of $370.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.64 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Regency Centers Co. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regency Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. Regency Centers’s payout ratio is 133.02%.

Regency Centers Profile

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.