Merrithew & Thorsten Inc Acquires New Position in Realty Income Corporation $O

Key Points

• Merrithew & Thorsten Inc opened a new position in Realty Income, buying 39,189 shares worth about $2.21 million in the fourth quarter. The stake now represents roughly 2.3% of its portfolio and is its 8th largest holding.
• Realty Income’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $1.13 and revenue of $1.55 billion, both above estimates. The company also raised its 2026 AFFO guidance to $4.41-$4.44 and expects about $9.5 billion in investment volume.
• The REIT continues to offer income investors a monthly dividend of $0.2705 per share, implying a roughly 5.2% annualized yield. However, its payout ratio is high at 266.39%, and analysts remain mostly cautious with a consensus rating of Hold.

Merrithew & Thorsten Inc acquired a new stake in Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 39,189 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,209,000. Realty Income accounts for about 2.3% of Merrithew & Thorsten Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Realty Income during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in shares of Realty Income by 586.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Realty Income by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Realty Income by 622.2% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Realty Income during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Realty Income from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Realty Income in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 price target on shares of Realty Income in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Realty Income from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Realty Income from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.27.

Realty Income Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Realty Income stock opened at $61.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Realty Income Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.38 and a 1 year high of $67.93. The company has a market capitalization of $57.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.79.

Realty Income (NYSE:O - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.03. Realty Income had a return on equity of 2.80% and a net margin of 18.94%.The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Realty Income has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.410-4.440 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Realty Income Corporation will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Realty Income Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.2705 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Realty Income's payout ratio is currently 266.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michelle Bushore sold 7,400 shares of Realty Income stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.42, for a total transaction of $461,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,641 shares in the company, valued at $4,222,151.22. The trade was a 9.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Realty Income

Here are the key news stories impacting Realty Income this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations, with Realty Income posting FFO/AFFO per share of $1.13 and revenue of $1.55 billion, helped by strong occupancy and active investment activity. Realty Income Announces Operating Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2026
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 AFFO guidance to $4.41-$4.44 and lifted expected investment volume to about $9.5 billion, signaling confidence in its acquisition pipeline and earnings growth. Realty Income targets $9.5B of 2026 investment volume while raising AFFO per share guidance to $4.41-$4.44
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remained supportive, with RBC raising its price target to $71 and keeping an outperform rating. Benzinga report on RBC price target increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Realty Income launched a new at-the-market equity program, which gives it more flexibility to fund growth but could also add to share count over time. Realty Income Launches New At-the-Market Equity Program
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are focused on the company’s trimmed annual outlook and concerns that higher interest expense and equity dilution could limit per-share growth, which may weigh on the stock. Realty Income beats Q1 targets but trims annual outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts downgraded the name to hold, arguing that revenue growth has not translated into faster FFO per share growth and that rising debt and share issuance remain headwinds. Realty Income Q1 Earnings: Topline Growth Met Flat FFO Per Share (Rating Downgrade)

Realty Income Company Profile

Realty Income Corporation NYSE: O is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and manages commercial properties subject primarily to long-term net lease agreements. The company's business model focuses on generating predictable, contractual rental income by leasing properties to tenants under agreements that typically place responsibility for taxes, insurance and maintenance on the tenant. Realty Income is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and markets itself as a reliable income-oriented REIT.

Realty Income's portfolio is concentrated in single-tenant, retail and service-oriented properties such as drugstores, convenience stores, dollar and discount retailers, restaurants, and other essential-service businesses.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.