St. Joe (NYSE:JOE) Major Shareholder Sells $1,985,550.00 in Stock

St. Joe Company (The) (NYSE:JOE) major shareholder Bruce Berkowitz sold 30,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.10, for a total transaction of $1,985,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,427,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,357,852.40. The trade was a 0.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

St. Joe Stock Performance

JOE traded up $0.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $64.83. The stock had a trading volume of 191,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,591. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42 and a beta of 1.28. St. Joe Company has a 12 month low of $45.75 and a 12 month high of $73.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.17.

St. Joe (NYSE:JOE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter. St. Joe had a net margin of 21.61% and a return on equity of 14.59%. The firm had revenue of $99.04 million for the quarter.

St. Joe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. St. Joe’s payout ratio is currently 32.99%.

Key Stories Impacting St. Joe

Here are the key news stories impacting St. Joe this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Bruce Berkowitz, a notable St. Joe shareholder, reported selling additional shares of St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE). Insider/investor selling can pressure sentiment because it may signal reduced conviction or lead traders to anticipate more supply in the stock. Bruce Berkowitz Sells 59,100 Shares of St. Joe (NYSE:JOE) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports said Berkowitz sold more shares of St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE), reinforcing the same overhang from recent selling activity. Bruce Berkowitz Sells 33,600 Shares of St. Joe (NYSE:JOE) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: A third filing/article noted Berkowitz sold more St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) shares, adding to investor concern about ongoing share distribution. Bruce Berkowitz Sells 29,000 Shares of St. Joe (NYSE:JOE) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several headlines about “St. Joe” were actually about schools and athletics, including a baseball program review and a softball title game; these appear unrelated to St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) and are unlikely to affect the stock. St. Joe’s baseball program under review

Institutional Investors Weigh In On St. Joe

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in St. Joe by 138.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 38,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after buying an additional 22,547 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of St. Joe during the third quarter valued at about $947,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in St. Joe during the 4th quarter worth $1,653,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in St. Joe by 3.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,959,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,866,000 after acquiring an additional 179,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in St. Joe by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 407,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,160,000 after purchasing an additional 144,121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JOE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of St. Joe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered St. Joe from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, St. Joe has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About St. Joe

The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) is a leading real estate development and asset management firm focused on Northwest Florida. Headquartered in Jacksonville, the company owns and manages approximately 171,000 acres of land across Bay, Gulf, Franklin and Walton counties. St. Joe’s core businesses include residential community development, commercial real estate, and hospitality, with an emphasis on master-planned neighborhoods, office and retail campuses, resort hotels and mixed-use town centers.

Founded in 1936 as a paper manufacturing company, St.