Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR - Free Report) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,357,636 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,725,366 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.78% of Healthcare Realty Trust worth $817,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,024 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth $53,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on HR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 31st. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Healthcare Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.46 per share, for a total transaction of $164,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 75,520 shares in the company, valued at $1,243,059.20. This represents a 15.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Healthcare Realty Trust Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE HR traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,121,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,718,405. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.88. Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated has a twelve month low of $14.09 and a twelve month high of $18.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.31 and a beta of 0.89.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 32.95% and a negative return on equity of 7.70%. The firm had revenue of $287.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Healthcare Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -83.48%.

Healthcare Realty Trust Profile

Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc provides real estate investment services. It owns, leases, manages, acquires, finances, develops, and redevelops income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient healthcare services throughout the United States of America. The company was founded by David R.