Tufton Capital Management Increases Stake in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR)

Tufton Capital Management grew its stake in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 373 shares during the quarter. Digital Realty Trust accounts for approximately 1.4% of Tufton Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Digital Realty Trust were worth $7,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,400,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 66,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,768,000 after purchasing an additional 9,959 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,405 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 6.4% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 381,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $61,643,000 after purchasing an additional 23,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 207.3% during the third quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 46,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,540,000 after purchasing an additional 31,430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matt Mercier sold 2,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.40, for a total value of $471,873.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Digital Realty Trust Price Performance

DLR stock opened at $157.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.07. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.54 and a 1 year high of $198.00. The firm has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.69.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $1.46. Digital Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.97% and a net margin of 10.85%. On average, equities analysts predict that Digital Realty Trust, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Digital Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 301.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank raised Digital Realty Trust from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered Digital Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Digital Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.95.

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.