Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 786,518 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 6,774 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.62% of Sun Communities worth $101,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Sun Communities by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 14,584 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,876,000 after buying an additional 3,264 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Sun Communities by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,153 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Sun Communities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,725,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Sun Communities by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 227,479 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,263,000 after buying an additional 4,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Sun Communities by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,774 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,789,000 after buying an additional 6,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SUI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $135.00 target price on Sun Communities and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Sun Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Barclays initiated coverage on Sun Communities in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $141.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on Sun Communities from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $137.00 price target on Sun Communities and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Communities has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeff Blau purchased 3,665 shares of Sun Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $117.99 per share, with a total value of $432,433.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $432,433.35. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sun Communities Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of SUI traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $127.91. 1,121,581 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 853,534. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Sun Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.22 and a 1 year high of $147.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 206.31, a PEG ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.86. The business's 50-day moving average price is $124.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.47.

Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.08. Sun Communities had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $470.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sun Communities, Inc. will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. This is a boost from Sun Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Sun Communities's dividend payout ratio is presently 670.97%.

About Sun Communities

Established in 1975, Sun Communities, Inc became a publicly owned corporation in December 1993. The Company is a fully integrated REIT listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: SUI. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned, operated, or had an interest in a portfolio of 667 developed MH, RV and Marina properties comprising 179,310 developed sites and approximately 48,030 wet slips and dry storage spaces in the U.S., the UK and Canada.