Amundi Sells 2,223 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Amundi reduced its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,422 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,223 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.15% of Essex Property Trust worth $26,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $508,381,000 after buying an additional 25,591 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $426,532,000 after acquiring an additional 70,785 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $392,766,000 after buying an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $220,612,000 after purchasing an additional 18,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $212,583,000 after buying an additional 633,200 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

NYSE ESS traded up $5.62 during trading on Monday, hitting $300.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 403,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,985. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $289.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.59. The firm has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.16.

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.