Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 153,581 Shares of KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,357,958 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 153,581 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in KE were worth $25,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BEKE. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in KE during the third quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of KE during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KE by 411.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,664 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KE by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 1,416 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in KE by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 2,623 shares in the last quarter. 39.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on BEKE shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on KE from $19.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group lowered KE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $22.70 to $24.50 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of KE in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.26.

KE Price Performance

Shares of BEKE stock opened at $20.11 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.79. KE Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $12.49 and a one year high of $26.05. The firm has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of -0.82.

KE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is an increase from KE’s previous — dividend of $0.17. KE’s payout ratio is currently 64.58%.

KE Profile

KE Holdings Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in operating an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services in the People's Republic of China. It operates through four segments: Existing Home Transaction Services, New Home Transaction Services, Home Renovation and Furnishing, and Emerging and Other Services.