Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 100,268 Shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT - Free Report) by 90.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,649 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 100,268 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Empire State Realty Trust were worth $113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,844,999 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $204,800,000 after buying an additional 461,421 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 133.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 304,539 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,374,000 after acquiring an additional 173,965 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 143.8% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 262,689 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,711,000 after purchasing an additional 154,920 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 95.4% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 228,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,533,000 after purchasing an additional 111,589 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 467,285 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,178,000 after purchasing an additional 102,658 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Empire State Realty Trust

In related news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 56,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $449,904.84. This represents a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,122 shares of company stock valued at $242,761. 13.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE ESRT traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $7.03. 2,205,897 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,195,270. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.56 and a 1-year high of $11.62. The company has a current ratio of 3.72, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Empire State Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.