Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,985,898 Shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) by 63.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,687,936 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,985,898 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.97% of Alexandria Real Estate Equities worth $164,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARE. Capital Square LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 2.1% in the third quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 5,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 5.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 1.5% in the third quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 144.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,422 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. 96.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Performance

NYSE ARE opened at $94.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.70, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.70 and a 200-day moving average of $109.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.25 and a 1-year high of $130.14.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $1.48. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 1.43%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. This is a boost from Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s dividend payout ratio is 293.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ARE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.30.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.