Franklin Resources Inc. Has $969,000 Stake in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,678 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 12,066 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.07% of Easterly Government Properties worth $969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 35.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the second quarter worth approximately $115,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 34.6% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,563 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Darrell W. Crate purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.91 per share, for a total transaction of $109,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,870,835.89. The trade was a 6.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DEA shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com raised Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

Shares of DEA opened at $11.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.76 and a 12 month high of $14.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.47 and its 200-day moving average is $12.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.11 and a beta of 0.69.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $74.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.98 million. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 1.34%. Easterly Government Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.48%. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 588.89%.

Easterly Government Properties Company Profile

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.