Raymond James Trust N.A. Acquires New Shares in Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI)

Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Communities during the first quarter worth about $401,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sun Communities by 12.2% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 6,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sun Communities during the first quarter worth about $385,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Sun Communities by 1.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,453 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC raised its position in shares of Sun Communities by 31.7% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 5,320 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SUI. Compass Point raised their price target on Sun Communities from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Sun Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on Sun Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Sun Communities in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Sun Communities from $143.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sun Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.17.

Sun Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SUI opened at $126.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Sun Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.74 and a 12 month high of $143.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $129.01 and a 200-day moving average of $124.99. The company has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.80, a P/E/G ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.81.

Sun Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from Sun Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Sun Communities’s payout ratio is currently 326.32%.

Insider Transactions at Sun Communities

In related news, Director Clunet R. Lewis sold 500 shares of Sun Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,724,092. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Clunet R. Lewis sold 500 shares of Sun Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,724,092. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Baxter Underwood sold 4,000 shares of Sun Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.48, for a total value of $525,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,789,700.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.