59,800 Shares in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 59,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 46.4% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 56,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Vident Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.5% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC grew its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 12,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PECO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.14.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PECO opened at $32.02 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.05. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.85 and a 52-week high of $37.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.0975 dividend. This is a positive change from Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s previous monthly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 254.35%.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Profile

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc (PECO) is one of the nation's largest owners and operators of omni-channel grocery-anchored shopping centers. Founded in 1991, PECO has generated strong results through its vertically-integrated operating platform and national footprint of well-occupied shopping centers.