Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 120,280 Shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. $ARE

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 32.8% in the first quarter, selling 120,280 shares and leaving it with 246,507 shares valued at about $11.44 million.
• Several other large institutional investors also made notable moves in ARE, and 96.54% of the stock is now held by institutions.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries a consensus “Reduce” rating with an average price target of $51.08, while the company also reported mixed recent earnings and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE - Free Report) by 32.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 246,507 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 120,280 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Alexandria Real Estate Equities worth $11,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the 4th quarter valued at about $805,429,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,033,304 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $295,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211,424 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 1,022.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,813,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $151,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,652,298 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,144,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,582,387 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $175,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,781 shares during the last quarter. 96.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARE. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $57.00 to $47.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alexandria Real Estate Equities currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $51.08.

Insider Activity at Alexandria Real Estate Equities

In other Alexandria Real Estate Equities news, CFO Marc E. Binda sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 188,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,166,256. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Gregory Calvin Thomas acquired 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.00 per share, for a total transaction of $143,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 33,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,353,984. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Up 1.7%

ARE stock opened at $50.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.51 and a 200 day moving average of $50.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of -8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.41 and a 52 week high of $88.24.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.73. The company had revenue of $671.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $684.78 million. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a negative net margin of 36.03% and a negative return on equity of 5.21%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities's revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.300-6.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Alexandria Real Estate Equities's dividend payout ratio is presently -45.93%.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc NYSE: ARE is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, development and management of collaborative life science and technology campuses. The company's properties are designed to support research and innovation by providing specialized laboratory, office and manufacturing space tailored to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, academic and related industries.

Since its founding in 1994, Alexandria has cultivated a diversified portfolio of campuses across leading innovation clusters in North America and Europe.

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