Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Stock Holdings in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. $DLR

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 63%, acquiring 2,760,286 shares, bringing its total ownership to 7,144,737 shares, which constitutes about 1.0% of its investment portfolio.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on Digital Realty Trust, with several firms raising their price targets and an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Digital Realty Trust reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.87, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a $1.22 quarterly dividend with a yield of 2.9% on September 30th.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR - Free Report) by 63.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,144,737 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,760,286 shares during the period. Digital Realty Trust comprises 1.0% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 2.12% of Digital Realty Trust worth $1,023,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DLR. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,329,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC raised its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 21,507 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,082,000 after acquiring an additional 2,930 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 643,424 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $92,196,000 after acquiring an additional 21,598 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 140,347 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $20,110,000 after acquiring an additional 12,289 shares in the last quarter. 99.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DLR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Digital Realty Trust from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial set a $199.00 target price on Digital Realty Trust and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.74.

Digital Realty Trust Stock Performance

Digital Realty Trust stock traded down $2.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $160.43. 580,712 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,053,847. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $171.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.96. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.95 and a 1 year high of $198.00.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.13. Digital Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 23.98%.The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Digital Realty Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.150-7.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Digital Realty Trust, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Digital Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 128.08%.

Insider Activity at Digital Realty Trust

In other news, Director Mark R. Patterson sold 175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.50, for a total value of $30,887.50. Following the sale, the director owned 6,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,151,133. This represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Digital Realty Trust Profile

Digital Realty Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. It serves the following industries: artificial intelligence (AI), networks, cloud, digital media, mobile, financial services, healthcare, and gaming.