Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Position in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,502,317 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 61,449 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 1.50% of Empire State Realty Trust worth $25,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 4.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 65,276 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Vert Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 55,749 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,349 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 2,668 shares during the period. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC lifted its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $46,405.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,028 shares in the company, valued at $449,904.84. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 30,122 shares of company stock valued at $242,761 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 14.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESRT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Empire State Realty Trust from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Empire State Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.00.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESRT traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $7.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,421,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,559. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 3.72 and a quick ratio of 3.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $8.11 and a 200 day moving average of $9.66. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $6.56 and a one year high of $11.62.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.19. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 2.84%. The business had revenue of $155.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $192.62 million. Analysts expect that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Empire State Realty Trust's payout ratio is 50.00%.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc NYSE: ESRT is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. The company is the recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. ESRT's flagship Empire State Building - the "World's Most Famous Building" - includes its Observatory, Tripadvisor's 2023 Travelers' Choice Awards: Best of the Best the #1 attraction in the US for two consecutive years.