Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 36,902 Shares of EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,857 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 36,902 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in EPR Properties were worth $7,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in EPR Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $511,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of EPR Properties by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 10,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,616 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of EPR Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $1,319,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of EPR Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $307,000. Finally, Discovery Capital Management LLC CT boosted its position in shares of EPR Properties by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT now owns 112,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,987,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Tonya L. Mater sold 3,120 shares of EPR Properties stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.90, for a total transaction of $161,928.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 46,827 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,321.30. The trade was a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brian Andrew Moriarty sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $129,975.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $795,395.01. The trade was a 14.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,520 shares of company stock valued at $502,581. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on EPR Properties from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of EPR Properties from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of EPR Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

EPR Properties Trading Up 2.1 %

EPR opened at $47.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 7.81 and a quick ratio of 7.81. EPR Properties has a fifty-two week low of $39.66 and a fifty-two week high of $54.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.96 and its 200 day moving average is $47.33.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $149.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.25 million. EPR Properties had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 28.87%. As a group, research analysts predict that EPR Properties will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EPR Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.50%. This is an increase from EPR Properties’s previous monthly dividend of $0.29. EPR Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 221.25%.

EPR Properties Profile

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money.