Baird Financial Group Inc. Buys 77,767 Shares of KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE)

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,799,381 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 77,767 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of KE worth $51,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of KE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in KE by 411.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KE by 42.3% during 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in KE by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 2,623 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KE by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,379 shares of the company's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BEKE. UBS Group cut KE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $22.70 to $24.50 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of KE from $19.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of KE in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.26.

KE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEKE traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,395,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,523,504. KE Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.92 and a 12-month high of $26.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of -0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.82.

KE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from KE's previous -- dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. 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.