KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $944,000 Investment in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 21,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $944,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EPR. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in EPR Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $302,313,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of EPR Properties by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,425,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,904,000 after buying an additional 7,429 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in EPR Properties by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,380,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $61,120,000 after buying an additional 30,401 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in EPR Properties by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,145,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,712,000 after acquiring an additional 60,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in EPR Properties by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,086,000 after acquiring an additional 334,943 shares during the last quarter. 74.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EPR Properties Stock Up 1.8 %

EPR opened at $52.63 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.88 and a 200-day moving average of $47.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 7.81, a quick ratio of 7.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. EPR Properties has a 1-year low of $39.66 and a 1-year high of $54.25.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.56. EPR Properties had a net margin of 28.87% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $149.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.25 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that EPR Properties will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

EPR Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This is a boost from EPR Properties’s previous monthly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. EPR Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 221.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EPR shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on EPR Properties from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on EPR Properties from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on EPR Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brian Andrew Moriarty sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $129,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $795,395.01. This trade represents a 14.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Tonya L. Mater sold 3,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.90, for a total transaction of $161,928.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 46,827 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,321.30. This trade represents a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,520 shares of company stock worth $502,581. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

EPR Properties Profile

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money.