Principal Securities Inc. Buys 398 Shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust were worth $617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FRT. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 1,463.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 611,086 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,251,000 after purchasing an additional 572,008 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 667.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 572,809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $65,856,000 after acquiring an additional 498,146 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 456.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 604,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,544,000 after acquiring an additional 496,129 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust during the third quarter worth about $26,548,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 3.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,885,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $561,743,000 after acquiring an additional 168,885 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Stock Performance

Shares of FRT stock opened at $104.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $108.40 and its 200 day moving average is $111.91. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a 12 month low of $95.97 and a 12 month high of $118.34.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.73. Federal Realty Investment Trust had a net margin of 24.38% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The business had revenue of $311.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $311.85 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Federal Realty Investment Trust will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Federal Realty Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FRT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $115.75 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $119.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.23.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Profile

Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of ownership, management, and redevelopment of retail and mixed-use properties located primarily in communities where demand exceeds supply in strategically selected metropolitan markets. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in North Bethesda, MD.