Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Stake in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. $ESRT

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,242,073 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 571,083 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 1.90% of Empire State Realty Trust worth $21,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESRT. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 78,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 35.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 7,079 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 5.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 81,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 4,535 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 137.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,105,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,284,000 after buying an additional 1,798,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 9.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,134,086 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,869,000 after buying an additional 98,148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ESRT. Evercore set a $7.00 price target on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings cut Empire State Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Empire State Realty Trust from $7.00 to $5.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Empire State Realty Trust from $6.80 to $6.30 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and an average target price of $6.35.

Empire State Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESRT opened at $5.74 on Monday. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.87 and a 12-month high of $8.76. The stock has a market cap of $990.09 million, a P/E ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.08.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 53.85%.

Empire State Realty Trust Profile

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the ownership, management and operation of office and retail properties. The company’s portfolio features the iconic Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan, alongside a diversified collection of commercial assets situated throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and select markets in Upstate New York. By offering premium office space and street-level retail, Empire State Realty Trust positions itself as a landlord of choice for corporate tenants, retailers and experiential brands seeking high-profile addresses.

Established through a spin-off of assets in early 2013, Empire State Realty Trust consolidated a mix of landmark and Class A properties, creating scale in one of the world’s most competitive real estate markets.