Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 494,353 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 73,284 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Easterly Government Properties were worth $5,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 103,623 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 8,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,766 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 2,550.6% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,338 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

NYSE DEA traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $12.37. The stock had a trading volume of 117,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,225. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.55 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.12. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.27 and a 12-month high of $15.21.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 9th were issued 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 payout ratio is currently 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.