Sunbelt Securities Inc. Purchases 7,850 Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 365.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 7,850 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Easterly Government Properties were worth $115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Easterly Government Properties by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,833,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,601,000 after purchasing an additional 30,318 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Easterly Government Properties by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,567,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,503,000 after purchasing an additional 320,633 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in Easterly Government Properties by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,434,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,713,000 after purchasing an additional 410,108 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Easterly Government Properties by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,652,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,216,000 after purchasing an additional 140,841 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Easterly Government Properties by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,624,086 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,828,000 after purchasing an additional 48,977 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:DEA opened at $12.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 61.85 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 4.31. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.27 and a 1-year high of $15.21.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 9th were given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 8th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 530.00%.

About Easterly Government Properties

Easterly Government Properties, Inc (NYSE: DEA) is based in Washington, DC, and focuses primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties that are leased to the U.S. Government. Easterly's experienced management team brings specialized insight into the strategy and needs of mission-critical U.S.