Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Free Report) by 45.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,896 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,740 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PECO. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 784.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,387 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PECO opened at $35.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.62 and a 1 year high of $40.12. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $35.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.74.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $178.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.59 million. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 2.40% and a net margin of 9.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.1025 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.'s payout ratio is 215.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PECO shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.83.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Phillips Edison & Co, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of shopping centers. It also offers an investment management business providing property management and advisory services. Its portfolio consists of well-occupied, grocery-anchored neighborhood and community shopping centers having a mix of national, regional, and local retailers offering necessity-based goods and services.

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