Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $2.25 Million Stock Position in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 27.8%, selling 6,065 shares and holding 15,716 shares valued at approximately $2.25 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Digital Realty Trust, with a range of ratings, leading to an average target price of $190.68 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Digital Realty Trust announced a $1.22 quarterly dividend with a yield of 2.8%, although its dividend payout ratio is high at 128.08%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,716 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 6,065 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Digital Realty Trust were worth $2,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,101 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 325,678 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $57,752,000 after buying an additional 13,259 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Digital Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $630,000. Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. 99.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DLR. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $177.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, New Street Research upgraded shares of Digital Realty Trust to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Digital Realty Trust has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.68.

Digital Realty Trust Stock Down 0.5%

Digital Realty Trust stock traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $172.11. 1,041,348 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,523,497. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.22. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.95 and a 12 month high of $198.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $174.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.79. The company has a market cap of $58.70 billion, a PE ratio of 45.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Digital Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 128.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Digital Realty Trust

In related news, Director Mark R. Patterson sold 175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.50, for a total value of $30,887.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,151,133. This represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

About Digital Realty Trust

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.