Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,984 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,201 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.10% of Boston Properties worth $11,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BXP. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Properties during the 3rd quarter worth about $277,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Boston Properties by 252.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Properties during the 3rd quarter worth about $693,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Properties during the 3rd quarter worth about $309,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Boston Properties by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 43,563 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boston Properties Price Performance

BXP stock traded up $2.45 on Tuesday, reaching $63.79. 524,626 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,431,860. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.33 and a 200-day moving average of $62.76. Boston Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.80 and a twelve month high of $73.97. The firm has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a PE ratio of 50.69 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 5.40, a current ratio of 5.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($1.05). The business had revenue of $828.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.59 million. Boston Properties had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 5.81%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Boston Properties, Inc. will post 7.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boston Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. Boston Properties’s payout ratio is 323.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Raymond A. Ritchey sold 14,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.84, for a total value of $889,186.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on BXP. StockNews.com upgraded Boston Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boston Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $57.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Boston Properties from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Barclays cut their price target on Boston Properties from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Boston Properties from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.44.

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.