Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $163.74 and traded as high as $179.62. Digital Realty Trust shares last traded at $178.14, with a volume of 822,871 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DLR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Digital Realty Trust from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Digital Realty Trust from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.68.

Digital Realty Trust Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($1.58). Digital Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.24% and a net margin of 8.04%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Digital Realty Trust, Inc. will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Digital Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 410.08%.

Insider Activity at Digital Realty Trust

In related news, CFO Matt Mercier sold 2,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.40, for a total transaction of $471,873.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Digital Realty Trust by 2.5% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,843,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $783,812,000 after purchasing an additional 117,461 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,826,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $733,859,000 after acquiring an additional 146,183 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 2.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,730,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $719,222,000 after acquiring an additional 129,799 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 5.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,541,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $690,498,000 after acquiring an additional 228,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Digital Realty Trust by 501.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,326,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $700,224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,607,802 shares during the last quarter. 99.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Digital Realty Trust Company 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.