Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Stake Boosted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,510 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,284 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. were worth $1,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PECO. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $935,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 395.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 464,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,970,000 after purchasing an additional 370,609 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 113.0% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 21,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 11,301 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,775 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $41.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.14.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. stock opened at $33.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.55. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.85 and a 52-week high of $37.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.05.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0975 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. This is a positive change from Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s previous monthly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 254.35%.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Profile

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.