Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Holdings in Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) by 33.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,690 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Boston Properties were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Boston Properties by 115.5% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 709 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Boston Properties by 59.1% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Boston Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $91,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Boston Properties by 198.1% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Boston Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $108,000. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BXP. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Boston Properties in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Wedbush increased their target price on Boston Properties from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised Boston Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Boston Properties from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Boston Properties from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.08.

Boston Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Boston Properties stock opened at $81.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 4.83 and a current ratio of 4.83. Boston Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.64 and a 1 year high of $83.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.37. The firm has a market cap of $12.72 billion, a PE ratio of 66.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.18.

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($1.21). The firm had revenue of $850.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.49 million. Boston Properties had a return on equity of 2.05% and a net margin of 5.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.86 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Boston Properties, Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boston Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. Boston Properties’s payout ratio is 321.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Peter V. Otteni sold 4,785 shares of Boston Properties stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.44, for a total value of $351,410.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Raymond A. Ritchey sold 21,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.25, for a total transaction of $1,621,248.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter V. Otteni sold 4,785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.44, for a total value of $351,410.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boston Properties Company Profile

Boston Properties, Inc (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years.