Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 16,170 Shares of BXP, Inc. $BXP

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in BXP, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 676,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 16,170 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of BXP worth $50,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BXP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BXP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $686,886,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BXP by 4.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,470,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,651,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,579 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of BXP by 354.0% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 870,178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,711,000 after purchasing an additional 678,529 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of BXP during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,580,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BXP by 70.9% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,138,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $76,787,000 after purchasing an additional 472,221 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BXP shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on BXP from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of BXP in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of BXP in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BXP from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of BXP from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.05.

BXP Stock Performance

NYSE BXP opened at $63.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.17, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 4.50 and a current ratio of 5.36. BXP, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.22 and a fifty-two week high of $79.33.

BXP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. BXP’s payout ratio is -220.47%.

Insider Activity

In other BXP news, EVP John J. Stroman sold 16,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total value of $1,215,198.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter V. Otteni sold 4,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $300,480.40. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,710 shares of company stock valued at $5,107,771. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BXP Profile

Boston Properties, Inc (NYSE: BXP) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, management, and development of Class A office properties across major U.S. markets. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company’s portfolio comprises high-quality office buildings, mixed-use developments and select retail assets designed to serve leading corporations in key metropolitan areas.

Established in 1970 by Mortimer B. Zuckerman, Boston Properties has grown through disciplined acquisitions and strategic ground-up developments.