Northern Trust Corp Acquires 2,378,858 Shares of KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE - Free Report) by 180.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,699,677 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,378,858 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.31% of KE worth $68,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in KE by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 46,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 10,889 shares during the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in KE by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new stake in KE during the 4th quarter worth about $2,046,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new position in shares of KE in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of KE by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,440,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,374,000 after purchasing an additional 122,312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BEKE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of KE in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of KE from $19.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group lowered KE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $22.70 to $24.50 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.26.

KE Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE BEKE traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.28. 3,062,535 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,504,356. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.35, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of -0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.79. KE Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.92 and a twelve month high of $26.05.

KE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from KE's previous -- dividend of $0.17. KE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.58%.

KE Profile

KE Holdings Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in operating an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services in the People's Republic of China. It operates through four segments: Existing Home Transaction Services, New Home Transaction Services, Home Renovation and Furnishing, and Emerging and Other Services.