Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 42,047 Shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its stake in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) by 42.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,766 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 42,047 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Empire State Realty Trust were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 6.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 42,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 654.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 26,410 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 81.6% in the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 512,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,284,000 after buying an additional 230,000 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth $103,000. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ESRT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $8.30 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Empire State Realty Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Empire State Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.43.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE ESRT opened at $8.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.67. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $11.62. The company has a quick ratio of 3.83, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55 and a beta of 1.67.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a return on equity of 3.00% and a net margin of 6.92%. The business had revenue of $154.54 million for the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Empire State Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 46.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire State Realty Trust

In other Empire State Realty Trust news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 11,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total transaction of $94,980.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,185 shares in the company, valued at $354,363.70. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 14.60% of the company’s stock.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. The company is the recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. ESRT’s flagship Empire State Building – the “World’s Most Famous Building” – includes its Observatory, Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best the #1 attraction in the US for two consecutive years.