D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 146,731 Shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT - Free Report) by 67.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,579 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 146,731 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Empire State Realty Trust were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ESRT. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,118,085 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $21,859,000 after buying an additional 741,234 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,627 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 70,701 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 12,654 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,235,041 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $95,306,000 after buying an additional 2,750,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 772,598 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,973,000 after acquiring an additional 247,296 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,122 shares of company stock worth $242,761. 14.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Empire State Realty Trust Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE ESRT traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $7.83. 767,147 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,248,467. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.93. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.56 and a 12 month 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96 and a beta of 1.60.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, sell-side analysts predict that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Empire State Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $8.30 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wolfe Research raised Empire State Realty Trust from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Empire State Realty Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.43.

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.