Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 5,793 Shares of Realty Income Co. (NYSE:O)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Realty Income Co. (NYSE:O - Free Report) by 35.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,252 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 5,793 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Realty Income were worth $1,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Realty Income during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Realty Income during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Realty Income during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Realty Income during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Realty Income during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 70.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Realty Income Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Realty Income stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,840,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,203,220. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.37, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Realty Income Co. has a 1-year low of $50.71 and a 1-year high of $64.88.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Realty Income had a return on equity of 2.35% and a net margin of 17.57%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Realty Income's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Realty Income Co. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Realty Income Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a jun 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2685 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a dividend yield of 5.8%. Realty Income's dividend payout ratio is 292.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on O. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Realty Income from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BNP Paribas lowered Realty Income from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Realty Income from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Realty Income in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Realty Income from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Realty Income has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.15.

Realty Income 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.