LaSalle Investment Management Securities LLC slashed its share count in more than half of its US real estate investment trust holdings, entered four new positions and exited three in the third quarter.

The repositioning brings the total value of LaSalle's REIT portfolio to $2.24 billion as of Sept. 30 from $2.53 billion as of June 30, according to the firm's most recent investor filing.

Massive stake increase in Healthpeak Properties

LaSalle's largest position increase was in healthcare-focused Healthpeak Properties Inc. for the second consecutive quarter.

The firm boosted its share count in Healthpeak by more than 767% to $38.2 million as of Sept. 30, raising the REIT's ranking to the 24th largest holding by market value from its previous spot of No. 42.

The investment manager also augmented its share count in residential REIT Sun Communities Inc. by more than sixfold during the quarter. The shares had a value of $33.8 million as of Sept. 30.

Apartment Income REIT Corp. was another residential REIT in which LaSalle increased its share count by more than 100% in the third quarter, valuing the holding at $47.7 million by quarter-end.

Overall, the investment firm boosted its share count in 13 existing positions.

The largest position decrease was in retail-focused Urban Edge Properties, in which LaSalle cut its stake by 97.2%. LaSalle's remaining holding was valued at under $1 million as of Sept. 30.

LaSalle also slashed its stake by more than 80% in both Spirit Realty Capital Inc. and Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc., resulting in holdings valued at under $1 million and $5.7 million, respectively, at quarter-end.

– 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.

4 new stakes, 3 exits

The investment firm added four new positions to its investment portfolio in the third quarter. The largest new stake by market value was a $98.9 million position in self-storage REIT Extra Space Storage Inc., followed by a $44.3 million investment in retail REIT NNN REIT Inc.

Extra Space completed the acquisition of Life Storage Inc. on July 20. LaSalle held 365,140 shares in Life Storage, which were valued at about $48.5 million as of June 30.

LaSalle added a $13.6 million position in office-focused Douglas Emmett Inc. during the third quarter.

In the second quarter, the investment firm exited its positions in Douglas Emmett and NNN REIT.

The fourth new stake was a $28.8 million position in retail REIT Kimco Realty Corp.

The investment firm also completely sold its stakes in two additional office REITs in the third quarter — Vornado Realty Trust and Highwoods Properties Inc. — which were valued at $19.2 million and $10.3 million, respectively, as of June 30.

Prologis tops LaSalle's total holdings

Prologis Inc. emerged as LaSalle's largest holding by market value since the previous quarter, even as the investment firm decreased its stake in the industrial REIT by 0.4%. On Sept. 30, the investment firm held 1,568,975 shares of Prologis, which were valued at $176.1 million.

Datacenter REIT Digital Realty Trust Inc. climbed one position since the second quarter to become LaSalle's second-largest holding, valued at $144.6 million as of Sept. 30. Since the end of the second quarter, the investment firm has cut its stake in Digital Realty by 3.3%.

Telecom tower REIT American Tower Corp. jumped four spots since the previous quarter to land the No. 3 spot in LaSalle's top holdings. It was valued at $108.1 million on Sept. 30.

Out of the top 20 largest holdings in LaSalle's investment portfolio, five belonged to the specialty sector, while four were from the residential sector.

LaSalle retains largest exposure in specialty sector

As of Sept. 30, LaSalle held the largest exposure in specialty REITs at $550.9 million, down from $604.6 million in the previous quarter. The investment firm's second-largest exposure was in the residential sector at $398.6 million as of quarter-end.