Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR) Shares Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. by 11.4%, now owning 26,804 shares valued at approximately $3.84 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Norges Bank and Northern Trust Corp, have also significantly increased their positions in Digital Realty Trust during the recent quarters.
• Digital Realty Trust announced a quarterly dividend of $1.22 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.71%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 456.07%.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,804 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,742 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Digital Realty Trust were worth $3,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 114.0% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 259 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Digital Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Digital Realty Trust by 306.7% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 305 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 40.8% during the first quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 352 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.71% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Digital Realty Trust news, Director Mark R. Patterson sold 175 shares of Digital Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.50, for a total transaction of $30,887.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,151,133. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Digital Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DLR traded down $2.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $177.86. 2,602,172 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,482,118. The company has a market cap of $59.90 billion, a PE ratio of 46.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.91. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.95 and a 12-month high of $198.00.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. Digital Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 23.98%. Digital Realty Trust's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Digital Realty Trust, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Digital Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Digital Realty Trust's payout ratio is 128.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $193.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Digital Realty Trust from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Digital Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Digital Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.53.

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.