Digital Realty Trust, Inc. $DLR Stock: Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Position

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,952,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 195,520 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Digital Realty Trust were worth $343,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,277,032,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 6.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,470,695 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,706,714,000 after purchasing an additional 534,158 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Digital Realty Trust during the second quarter worth $1,178,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 17,256.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,890,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $878,325,000 after buying an additional 4,862,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,850,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $874,046,000 after buying an additional 35,850 shares during the last quarter. 99.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Digital Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of DLR opened at $183.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.23 and a 1 year high of $208.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $179.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.77.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. Digital Realty Trust had a return on equity of 3.68% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Digital Realty Trust, Inc. will post 8.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Digital Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Digital Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 204.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DLR. HSBC lowered their price objective on Digital Realty Trust from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce initiated coverage on Digital Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $213.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $237.00 price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Digital Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $192.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Digital Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Digital Realty Trust news, Director Mark Patterson sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.96, for a total transaction of $38,792.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,226,215.12. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

About Digital Realty Trust

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops data centers. Its facilities support customers’ IT infrastructure, including the equipment and systems used to store, process and exchange digital information. The company provides data center space and related services, including colocation, interconnection and access to cloud and network providers. Its PlatformDIGITAL offering connects businesses with customers, partners and service providers across its data center portfolio.