JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 79,367 Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 14.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 454,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 79,367 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.43% of Easterly Government Properties worth $6,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DEA. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 47.5% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 30,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,671,000 after buying an additional 9,248 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 324.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 165,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after buying an additional 126,306 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 3rd quarter worth $856,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 430.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 49,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 40,492 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on DEA. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

Shares of DEA opened at $11.36 on Thursday. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.76 and a 52-week high of $14.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.11 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.33%. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 588.89%.

Insider Transactions at Easterly Government Properties

In other Easterly Government Properties news, CEO Darrell W. Crate purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.91 per share, for a total transaction of $109,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 171,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,870,835.89. The trade was a 6.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Easterly Government Properties 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.