Employees Retirement System of Texas Buys Shares of 136,000 UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH)

Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 136,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,568,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.17% of UMH Properties as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UMH. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in UMH Properties in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UMH Properties by 1,011.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UMH Properties by 861.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UMH Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in UMH Properties by 374.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,568 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UMH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating on shares of UMH Properties in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UMH Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Maxim Group cut their price target on shares of UMH Properties from $22.00 to $20.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00.

UMH Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UMH remained flat at $16.82 on Friday. 440,185 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 436,158. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.33 and a 200 day moving average of $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 8.48, a current ratio of 8.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. UMH Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.94 and a 52 week high of $20.64. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.14.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $61.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.82 million. UMH Properties had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 6.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UMH Properties, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.35%. This is a boost from UMH Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. UMH Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 750.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UMH Properties

In other UMH Properties news, CEO Samuel A. Landy sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total value of $427,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,165,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,937,684.15. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Edward Mitchell sold 70,852 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $1,218,654.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 215,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,705,344.40. The trade was a 24.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,826 shares of company stock worth $2,323,564. 8.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About UMH Properties

UMH Properties, Inc, which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities containing approximately 25,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.