Ameriprise Financial Inc. Grows Stake in Paramount Group, Inc. (NYSE:PGRE)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Paramount Group, Inc. (NYSE:PGRE) by 159.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,590 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Paramount Group were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paramount Group by 806.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 5,257 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Group during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Group during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Paramount Group by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Paramount Group in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. 65.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paramount Group

In other news, CEO Albert P. Behler bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.15 per share, with a total value of $41,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 751,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,120,019.80. This trade represents a 1.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 13.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PGRE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Paramount Group from $5.00 to $4.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Paramount Group from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Paramount Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $4.50 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $3.25 target price on shares of Paramount Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Paramount Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paramount Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.19.

Paramount Group Stock Performance

Shares of PGRE stock opened at $6.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.45, a current ratio of 4.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.70. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.62 and a beta of 1.32. Paramount Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.75 and a 52 week high of $6.51.

Paramount Group (NYSE:PGRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.17. The business had revenue of $187.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.79 million. Paramount Group had a negative return on equity of 5.26% and a negative net margin of 27.92%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paramount Group, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

About Paramount Group

Paramount Group, Inc (“Paramount” or the “Company”) is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust that owns, operates, manages, acquires and redevelops high-quality, Class A office properties located in select central business district submarkets of New York and San Francisco. Paramount is focused on maximizing the value of its portfolio by leveraging the sought-after locations of its assets and its proven property management capabilities to attract and retain high-quality tenants.