Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 22,915 Shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 469,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.16% of Digital Realty Trust worth $63,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Digital Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in Digital Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Digital Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Digital Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 99.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Digital Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Digital Realty Trust stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $142.77. 1,122,255 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,570,588. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.88 and a 12 month high of $154.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66 and a beta of 0.55.

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Digital Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DLR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. HSBC raised their target price on Digital Realty Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “reduce” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank downgraded Digital Realty Trust from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $157.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Digital Realty Trust from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Digital Realty Trust from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jean F. H. P. Mandeville sold 3,400 shares of Digital Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.50, for a total value of $494,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,224,091.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Digital Realty Trust Profile

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.