St. Joe Company (The) (NYSE:JOE) Major Shareholder Bruce R. Berkowitz Sells 167,500 Shares

Key Points

• Bruce R. Berkowitz, a major shareholder of St. Joe Company, sold 167,500 shares at an average price of $51.44, totaling approximately $8.62 million, reducing his ownership by 1%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 39.44%, set to be paid on September 19th.
• St. Joe's stock traded down to $50.70, with a current market capitalization of $2.94 billion and significant recent activity from institutional investors, owning 86.67% of the stock.

St. Joe Company (The) (NYSE:JOE - Get Free Report) major shareholder Bruce R. Berkowitz sold 167,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.44, for a total value of $8,616,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,634,024 shares in the company, valued at $855,654,194.56. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

St. Joe Trading Up 1.1%

JOE traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $50.13. 44,030 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 250,915. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 35.33 and a beta of 1.37. St. Joe Company has a 52-week low of $40.19 and a 52-week high of $62.49.

St. Joe (NYSE:JOE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter. St. Joe had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 19.39%. The company had revenue of $129.10 million for the quarter.

St. Joe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. St. Joe's payout ratio is 39.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered St. Joe from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On St. Joe

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Berkley W R Corp acquired a new stake in shares of St. Joe during the 4th quarter worth about $9,415,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in St. Joe by 2,785.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,432,000 after purchasing an additional 202,642 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of St. Joe during the first quarter worth $7,195,000. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of St. Joe during the second quarter worth $6,347,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in St. Joe by 155.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 194,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,285,000 after purchasing an additional 118,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.67% of the company's stock.

About St. Joe

The St. Joe Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate development, asset management, and operating company in Northwest Florida. It operates through three segments: Residential, Hospitality, and Commercial. The Residential segment engages in the development of communities into homesites for sale to homebuilders and on a limited basis to retail customers.