Bank of America Corp DE Sells 142,830 Shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 442,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 142,830 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.27% of Empire State Realty Trust worth $4,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 819.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 3,828 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $105,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $110,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $117,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $46,405.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $449,904.84. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 30,122 shares of company stock worth $242,761 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 14.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ESRT. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $8.30 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised 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 report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.43.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:ESRT traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,500,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,733. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.43 and a beta of 1.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $7.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 3.72. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.56 and a fifty-two week high of $11.62.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $154.54 million during 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 expect that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Empire State Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is 46.67%.

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.