Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 146,078 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 40.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 146,078 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 0.45% of EastGroup Properties worth $38,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,652,922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,221,077,000 after acquiring an additional 120,746 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.9% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,042,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $173,598,000 after buying an additional 38,766 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 756,309 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $138,813,000 after buying an additional 226,169 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 113.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 695,206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $115,773,000 after buying an additional 368,954 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 666,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $122,295,000 after buying an additional 29,479 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

EGP opened at $172.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $163.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.57. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.75 and a 1 year high of $188.85.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $178.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.41.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina.