JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Stock Position in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) by 14.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 454,814 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 79,367 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.43% of Easterly Government Properties worth $6,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DEA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,798 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 29.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 62.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the third quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 14,102 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,418 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Easterly Government Properties

In other news, CEO Darrell W. Crate acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.91 per share, for a total transaction of $109,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,870,835.89. This trade represents a 6.19 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Easterly Government Properties Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Easterly Government Properties stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $11.54. 760,105 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,830. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.76 and a 52-week high of $14.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.87 and a 200-day moving average of $12.90. The company has a current ratio of 4.01, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.08 and a beta of 0.69.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $74.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.98 million. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Easterly Government Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 588.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DEA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Easterly Government Properties from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Easterly Government Properties Company Profile

Easterly Government Properties, Inc NYSE: DEA is based in Washington, DC, and focuses primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties that are leased to the U.S. Government. Easterly's experienced management team brings specialized insight into the strategy and needs of mission-critical U.S.