Marshall Wace LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH)

Marshall Wace LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE:UMH - Free Report) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 495,900 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 143,527 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.63% of UMH Properties worth $9,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in UMH Properties in the fourth quarter worth $23,396,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UMH Properties by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,506,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $141,722,000 after purchasing an additional 799,798 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UMH Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,121,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UMH Properties in the third quarter valued at about $4,421,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in UMH Properties by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 375,919 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,097,000 after buying an additional 178,426 shares in the last quarter. 75.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UMH. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of UMH Properties in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised UMH Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.17.

UMH Properties Price Performance

UMH traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.46. 234,117 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,648. The business's 50-day moving average price is $17.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 134.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. UMH Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.73 and a 1-year high of $20.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 8.48 and a quick ratio of 8.48.

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.21. UMH Properties had a return on equity of 6.06% and a net margin of 11.81%. The firm had revenue of ($126.74) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.73 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UMH Properties, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UMH Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. This is an increase from UMH Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. UMH Properties's payout ratio is presently 3,000.00%.

UMH Properties Profile

UMH Properties, Inc, which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities containing approximately 25,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.