Baillie Gifford & Co. Purchases Shares of 96,700 Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI)

Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 96,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $12,924,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.08% of Sun Communities at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Sun Communities by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,453 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in shares of Sun Communities by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 2,926 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in Sun Communities by 0.3% during the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 26,611 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,749,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sun Communities by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sun Communities by 2.6% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,727 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SUI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Sun Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a "hold" rating and a $129.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Sun Communities from $143.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Sun Communities in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on Sun Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Sun Communities from $143.00 to $136.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.17.

Sun Communities Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE SUI traded down $1.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $122.58. The stock had a trading volume of 541,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 834,645. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a PE ratio of 107.53, a PEG ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $128.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.07. Sun Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.74 and a twelve month high of $143.99.

Sun Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Sun Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Sun Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 329.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Craig Leupold sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total value of $320,975.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Craig Leupold sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total transaction of $320,975.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Clunet R. Lewis sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.13, for a total transaction of $65,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,724,092. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,000 shares of company stock worth $912,460 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.06% of the company's stock.

Sun Communities Profile

Established in 1975, Sun Communities, Inc became a publicly owned corporation in December 1993. The Company is a fully integrated REIT listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: SUI. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned, operated, or had an interest in a portfolio of 667 developed MH, RV and Marina properties comprising 179,310 developed sites and approximately 48,030 wet slips and dry storage spaces in the U.S., the UK and Canada.