Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 2,031 Shares of STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG)

Kovack Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,764 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,031 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in STAG Industrial were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STAG. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in STAG Industrial in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in STAG Industrial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hilltop National Bank raised its stake in STAG Industrial by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in STAG Industrial by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,977 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of STAG Industrial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $109,000. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STAG Industrial Price Performance

Shares of STAG Industrial stock opened at $36.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.34 and a 200 day moving average of $36.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. STAG Industrial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.27 and a 12 month high of $41.63.

STAG Industrial (NYSE:STAG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.43. STAG Industrial had a return on equity of 5.51% and a net margin of 24.64%. On average, research analysts expect that STAG Industrial, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STAG Industrial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.1242 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from STAG Industrial’s previous dividend of $0.12. This represents a dividend yield of 4.25%. STAG Industrial’s payout ratio is 143.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on STAG. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of STAG Industrial from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on STAG Industrial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays cut their target price on STAG Industrial from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on STAG Industrial from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Benjamin S. Butcher sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total transaction of $1,755,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,083.20. The trade was a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

STAG Industrial Profile

STAG Industrial, Inc is a real estate investment company, which engages in acquiring, owning, and managing single-tenant, industrial real estate assets. It offers industrial real estate operating platform to real estate ownership. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.