Franklin Resources Inc. Has $8.40 Million Holdings in UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 43,155 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.06% of UDR worth $8,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UDR. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UDR by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,330 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in UDR by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC boosted its holdings in UDR by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 17,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $767,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in UDR by 62.7% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,349 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in UDR by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,792 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UDR shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of UDR from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of UDR from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $50.00 to $45.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised UDR from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Zelman & Associates reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of UDR in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UDR from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at UDR

In related news, CEO Thomas W. Toomey sold 25,000 shares of UDR stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $1,068,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 824,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,256,609. This trade represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.73% of the company's stock.

UDR Stock Up 1.7 %

UDR stock traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $40.11. The company had a trading volume of 67,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,177,541. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.10 and its 200-day moving average is $43.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 160.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.78. UDR, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.14 and a fifty-two week high of $47.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 5.61 and a quick ratio of 5.91.

UDR (NYSE:UDR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.53. UDR had a return on equity of 2.65% and a net margin of 5.36%. On average, research analysts forecast that UDR, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

UDR Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from UDR's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. UDR's payout ratio is currently 688.00%.

UDR Profile

UDR, Inc NYSE: UDR, an S&P 500 company, is a leading multifamily real estate investment trust with a demonstrated performance history of delivering superior and dependable returns by successfully managing, buying, selling, developing and redeveloping attractive real estate communities in targeted U.S.