Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 1,815 Shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR) by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,815 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Digital Realty Trust were worth $1,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DLR. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 633.3% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth $242,000. Little House Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Digital Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $2,436,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 47,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. 99.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Digital Realty Trust Trading Up 9.6 %

NYSE:DLR opened at $181.01 on Friday. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.73 and a 12 month high of $193.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $157.08 and its 200 day moving average is $150.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.55 billion, a PE ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.60.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($1.43). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Digital Realty Trust had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Digital Realty Trust, Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Digital Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DLR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Digital Realty Trust from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Digital Realty Trust from $157.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Digital Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jean F. H. P. Mandeville sold 600 shares of Digital Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total value of $90,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,360,604.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Digital Realty Trust

Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL, the company's global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges.