Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) Trading 5.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) traded up 5.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $68.92 and last traded at $69.09. 301,792 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,164,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush downgraded Boston Properties from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Boston Properties from $88.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Boston Properties from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Boston Properties from $89.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Boston Properties from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.85.

Boston Properties Stock Up 4.8 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.43 and a 200 day moving average of $76.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 5.69 and a quick ratio of 5.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 686.75, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19.

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $1.28. Boston Properties had a return on equity of 3.90% and a net margin of 0.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Boston Properties, Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boston Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.71%. Boston Properties’s payout ratio is 3,920.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Donna D. Garesche sold 2,143 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.87, for a total transaction of $145,445.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Hilary J. Spann sold 12,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total value of $891,535.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,657.42. This trade represents a 63.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boston Properties

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Boston Properties by 5,025.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Boston Properties by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $94,000. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

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.