Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 2,009,935 Shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) by 65.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,051,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,009,935 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.86% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. worth $34,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PECO. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the second quarter worth $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 197.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PECO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Price Performance

PECO stock opened at $38.37 on Friday. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.62 and a 1-year high of $39.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.15. The company has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.41, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.57.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.48). Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 2.23% and a net margin of 9.32%. The company had revenue of $161.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.1025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. This is an increase from Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s previous monthly dividend of $0.10. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 267.40%.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc (PECO) is one of the nation's largest owners and operators of omni-channel grocery-anchored shopping centers. Founded in 1991, PECO has generated strong results through its vertically-integrated operating platform and national footprint of well-occupied shopping centers.