LaSalle ups investment in Ventas, cuts positions in 18 REITs in Q4'22

LaSalle Investment Management Securities LLC slashed its positions in 18 out of 48 of its publicly traded U.S. real estate investment trust holdings and more than tripled its stake in Ventas Inc. during the fourth quarter of 2022.

The investment manager completely exited two positions during the quarter, bringing the total value of its REIT portfolio to $2.44 billion as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to the firm's most recent investor filing.

Biggest stake increase, decrease in 2 healthcare REITs

LaSalle's largest position increase during the fourth quarter was in Ventas. It augmented its share count in the healthcare REIT by 283.9% to 1,098,973 shares, valued at $49.5 million. This was followed by a $32.2 million stake in another healthcare-focused REIT, Healthcare Realty Trust Inc., in which it boosted its share count by 118.4%.

The investment firm reduced its shares in Healthpeak Properties Inc. by 94.8% during the last quarter of 2022, followed by a 48.5% decrease in advertising REIT OUTFRONT Media Inc.

LaSalle slashed its stakes by more than 30% in three other REITs: Host Hotels & Resorts Inc., Camden Property Trust and SITE Centers Corp.

Prologis occupies top position in portfolio

LaSalle boosted its share count in industrial REIT Prologis Inc. by more than 61.2% in the final quarter of 2022. Prologis occupies the top position in the firm's investment portfolio with $183.3 million in market value.

Self-storage REIT Public Storage, which held the top position in the firm's portfolio in the linked quarter, slid down one position to No. 2 on the list as LaSalle decreased its stake by 12.7% in the company.

Of the top 20 holdings in LaSalle's investment portfolio at quarter-end, five belonged to the specialty REIT segment, including data center REIT Equinix Inc., the firm's third-largest stake in the fourth quarter and its biggest stake in the second quarter of last year. The four other REITs in the specialty sector were Digital Realty Trust Inc., VICI Properties Inc., Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. and American Tower Corp.

Eight out of the top 20 holdings were from the retail and residential sectors.

As of Dec. 31, the investment firm's exposure to the specialty sector was the highest at $519.2 million, followed by a $445.9 million stake in residential and a $396.7 million stake in retail.

* Click here to view LaSalle's history of public share holdings. * Read some of the day's top real estate news and insights from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

LaSalle exits 2 REITs

The asset manager's exits included industrial REIT Duke Realty Corp., which was its 14th largest holding in the third quarter of 2022. Duke Realty was acquired by Prologis on Oct. 3, 2022, for roughly $25.60 billion, making it one of the largest industrial sector deals in 2022.

LaSalle also exited its stake in office-focused Corporate Office Properties Trust.

The investment manager added a $47.8 million stake in self-storage REIT Life Storage Inc., which is in the process of being acquired by Public Storage.