LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 12.0% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 30,559 shares, bringing its ownership to a total of 284,929 shares valued at approximately $40.8 million.
• Digital Realty Trust reported earnings per share of $1.87 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.74, with a revenue of $1.49 billion, marking a 10% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.22 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.8%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 128.08%.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,929 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 30,559 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.08% of Digital Realty Trust worth $40,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DLR. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,080,550 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $900,934,000 after buying an additional 1,854,748 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 66.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,081,821 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $546,499,000 after buying an additional 1,232,043 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 13,842.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,131,131 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $162,080,000 after buying an additional 1,123,018 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Digital Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $182,126,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,129,819 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $448,422,000 after buying an additional 918,549 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Digital Realty Trust Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE DLR traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $172.73. 1,347,674 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,519,500. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.95 and a 12-month high of $198.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $174.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.83. The firm has a market cap of $58.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on DLR. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target 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. Truist Financial set a $199.00 price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Digital Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.68.

Digital Realty Trust Company 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.