Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 956,476 Shares of KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE - Free Report) by 253.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,333,337 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 956,476 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.11% of KE worth $24,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in KE by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 169,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the period. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC lifted its stake in KE by 284.5% in the 4th quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 84,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,551,000 after buying an additional 62,300 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in KE during the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. Caas Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of KE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,689,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in KE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on BEKE shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on KE from $19.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group upgraded KE from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $22.10 to $23.00 in a report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on KE from $25.80 to $24.80 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of KE in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, KE presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.16.

KE Stock Performance

Shares of KE stock traded down $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $18.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,015,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,384,475. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.25 and a 200-day moving average of $19.69. KE Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.92 and a 1 year high of $26.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of -0.73.

KE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from KE's previous -- dividend of $0.17. KE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.49%.

About KE

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.