APG Asset Management US Inc. Trims Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

APG Asset Management US Inc. lessened its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,813 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 25,797 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. owned 0.13% of Essex Property Trust worth $23,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% during 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 in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in 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 worth $12,923,000 after acquiring an additional 26,102 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $733,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.9% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,024 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS traded up $6.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $269.53. The stock had a trading volume of 143,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,070. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $293.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.18. The firm has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current 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 given a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 in the last quarter. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.11.

About Essex Property Trust

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.