Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 2,482 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,406 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,482 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.13% of Essex Property Trust worth $24,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $541,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,237 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,933,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 10,793 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,188,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 148.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 43,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,923,000 after acquiring an additional 26,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $263.17. 552,261 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 397,942. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.90 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.19.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,724,192.66. This trade represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.