William Blair Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. $ESRT

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,801,381 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 294,369 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.65% of Empire State Realty Trust worth $18,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,616,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,603 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 110,107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 9,195 shares during the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESRT opened at $5.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.12. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.87 and a 1-year high of $8.76. The company has a market cap of $961.30 million, a PE ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 1.35.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ESRT shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $7.00 to $5.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore set a $7.00 price objective on Empire State Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Empire State Realty Trust from $6.80 to $6.30 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $6.35.

Empire State Realty Trust Company Profile

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the ownership, management and operation of office and retail properties. The company’s portfolio features the iconic Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan, alongside a diversified collection of commercial assets situated throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and select markets in Upstate New York. By offering premium office space and street-level retail, Empire State Realty Trust positions itself as a landlord of choice for corporate tenants, retailers and experiential brands seeking high-profile addresses.

Established through a spin-off of assets in early 2013, Empire State Realty Trust consolidated a mix of landmark and Class A properties, creating scale in one of the world’s most competitive real estate markets.