Gradient Investments LLC Trims Position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE)

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE - Free Report) by 31.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 154,443 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 72,383 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC owned 0.09% of Alexandria Real Estate Equities worth $19,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARE. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,138,718 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,152,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338,634 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,277,135,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,640,279 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,348,934,000 after acquiring an additional 424,932 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,604,252 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $451,738,000 after acquiring an additional 245,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,654,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $265,674,000 after acquiring an additional 194,651 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.54% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter M. Moglia sold 3,200 shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.90, for a total value of $393,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 249,683 shares in the company, valued at $30,686,040.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Peter M. Moglia sold 3,200 shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.90, for a total value of $393,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 249,683 shares in the company, valued at $30,686,040.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Joel S. Marcus sold 7,500 shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.92, for a total transaction of $891,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 429,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,080,658.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.13.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARE traded up $1.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $128.91. 812,340 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 970,586. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.73 and a 12 month high of $135.45. The firm has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a PE ratio of 238.72, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($2.83). Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a return on equity of 0.46% and a net margin of 3.59%. The firm had revenue of $757.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities's payout ratio is 940.74%.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc NYSE: ARE, an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.