Cohen & Steers trims US REIT portfolio, exits Rexford Industrial Realty

New York-based asset manager Cohen & Steers Inc. pared back its share count in more than half of its US equity real estate investment trust common stock holdings in the third quarter, according to the firm's latest Form 13F filing.

The total value of Cohen & Steers' US REIT portfolio fell 8.3% sequentially in the third quarter to $38.48 billion as of Sept. 30. While the investment firm dropped its share count in 28 of its 52 REIT holdings, falling share prices in the US REIT sector overall also contributed to its decline in market value.

Exits and decreases

Cohen & Steers sold all 726,277 of its shares in industrial REIT Rexford Industrial Realty Inc. during the recent quarter, a stake valued at roughly $37.9 million at the end of the quarter prior.

The investment firm sold nearly its entire stake in office REIT Cousins Properties Inc., retaining just 44 shares as of Sept. 30. The quarter prior, the firm owned more than 16.6 million shares in the office REIT, valued at $379.6 million.

Cohen & Steers also trimmed back its share count in its other office REIT holding, Highwoods Properties Inc., selling off 2.8% of its stake during the quarter.

Another notable position decrease was in Public Storage, with Cohen & Steers selling 47% of its share count in the self-storage REIT. As of Sept. 30, the investment manager's stake in the REIT was valued at $564.3 million.

Initiations and increases

Cohen & Steers significantly ramped up its stake in industrial REIT EastGroup Properties Inc., going from 16,327 shares owned as of June 30 to 253,640 shares as of Sept. 30, when it was valued at $42.2 million.

The firm also increased its share count in single-tenant retail REIT NETSTREIT Corp. by more than eightfold, valued at $139.6 million as of Sept. 30.

Other large share-count increases included diversified REIT W. P. Carey Inc. and casino REIT VICI Properties Inc., with share count increases of 297.6% and 153.9%, respectively.

Cohen & Steers added two new REIT positions to its portfolio in the third quarter. The firm bought more than 3 million shares in Broadstone Net Lease Inc., valued at $43.8 million at quarter-end. The other initiation was in industrial REIT STAG Industrial Inc., valued at $3.7 million.

Largest holdings

Industrial REIT Prologis Inc. was Cohen & Steers' largest REIT holding by market value at quarter-end, at $3.74 billion, despite the firm trimming its share count in the REIT by 6.7%.

Healthcare REIT Welltower Inc. rose one position to the firm's second-largest holding by market value, at $3.34 billion. During the quarter, Cohen & Steers increased its share count in the REIT by 7.3%, while the REIT's share price during the quarter also rose 1.3%.

Datacenter REIT Digital Realty Trust Inc. rounded out the top three, valued at $2.84 billion at quarter-end.

Cohen & Steers held the highest exposure to the specialty REIT sector, valued at $10.53 billion in aggregate. Within the specialty sector, its holdings in communication REITs totaled $4.74 billion, followed by datacenter REITs at $4.71 billion.

The firm also held $8.67 billion worth of residential REIT stock, followed by $6.45 billion in retail REITs.