Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 2,750,045 Shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT - Free Report) by 42.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,235,041 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,750,045 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 5.54% of Empire State Realty Trust worth $95,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,615,985 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,905,000 after buying an additional 98,850 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 143.8% in the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 262,689 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,711,000 after acquiring an additional 154,920 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $460,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $204,800,000 after purchasing an additional 461,421 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,720,315 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,394,000 after purchasing an additional 90,758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Empire State Realty Trust news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 11,843 shares of Empire State Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total value of $94,980.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at $354,363.70. The trade was a 21.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,122 shares of company stock worth $242,761. Corporate insiders own 14.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

ESRT traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $7.34. 812,429 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,224,136. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $7.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.72, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $6.56 and a one year high of $11.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 1.60.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $154.54 million for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 2.84%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Empire State Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.67%.

Empire State Realty Trust Company Profile

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.