Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. $ESRT Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,813,895 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,424,066 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Empire State Realty Trust were worth $29,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 1,704.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 7,671 shares in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC increased its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 869.5% during the 2nd quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 8,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 7,408 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at about $74,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust in the second quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust in the second quarter worth about $94,000. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $8.30 to $6.80 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.40.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Up 1.8%

Empire State Realty Trust stock opened at $6.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14 and a beta of 1.36. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.09 and a 52 week high of $9.67. The company has a quick ratio of 4.33, a current ratio of 4.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

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.