Essex Financial Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O)

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O - Free Report) by 89.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,514 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 13,926 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Realty Income were worth $1,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of O. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Realty Income by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,236,506 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,436,622,000 after buying an additional 555,908 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Realty Income by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,473,694 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,253,584,000 after buying an additional 658,240 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Realty Income by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,139,719 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $701,792,000 after buying an additional 3,834,403 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Realty Income in the 4th quarter worth approximately $624,666,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Realty Income in the 4th quarter worth approximately $553,572,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.81% of the company's stock.

Realty Income Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:O opened at $57.06 on Monday. Realty Income Corporation has a 1-year low of $50.71 and a 1-year high of $64.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $56.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.64. The company has a market capitalization of $51.53 billion, a PE ratio of 51.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Realty Income (NYSE:O - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Realty Income had a net margin of 18.15% and a return on equity of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Realty Income's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Realty Income Corporation will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Realty Income Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a jul 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.269 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This is an increase from Realty Income's previous jul 25 dividend of $0.27. Realty Income's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 292.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on O shares. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Realty Income in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Realty Income from $65.50 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Realty Income from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Realty Income from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Realty Income from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.15.

Realty Income Company Profile

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company, is an S&P 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index. We invest in people and places to deliver dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. The company is structured as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 15,450 real estate properties (including properties acquired in the Spirit merger in January 2024) primarily owned under long-term net lease agreements with commercial clients.

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