Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 26,729 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 26,729 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $52,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EGP. Morgan Stanley raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 544.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,044,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $302,678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727,071 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $64,710,000. State Street Corp raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,412,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $492,949,000 after purchasing an additional 248,538 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 4,503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 181,896 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,277,000 after purchasing an additional 177,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,172,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,254,651,000 after acquiring an additional 133,344 shares during the period. 90.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EGP opened at $170.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $167.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.44. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $144.40 and a one year high of $188.85. The stock has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.97.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th were given a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. This is a boost from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is currently 128.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EGP. BTIG Research lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $218.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Raymond James upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 27th. Wedbush started coverage on EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on EastGroup Properties from $177.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.08.

EastGroup Properties Profile

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.