Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Holdings in BXP, Inc. $BXP

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of BXP, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) by 145.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 663,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 393,255 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in BXP were worth $49,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BXP in the second quarter valued at $686,886,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BXP by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,470,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,651,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,579 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in BXP by 354.0% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 870,178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,711,000 after acquiring an additional 678,529 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in BXP during the 2nd quarter worth $38,580,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BXP

In other BXP news, CEO Owen D. Thomas sold 1,198 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.22, for a total transaction of $73,341.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Hilary J. Spann sold 5,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.69, for a total transaction of $327,996.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,392.08. This trade represents a 23.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 7,887 shares of company stock valued at $476,930 over the last three months. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of BXP from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on BXP from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BXP from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on BXP from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered BXP from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.00.

BXP Stock Performance

BXP stock opened at $52.15 on Thursday. BXP, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.72 and a 1 year high of $79.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current ratio of 5.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.80.

BXP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. BXP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 160.92%.

About BXP

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.