Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 10,096 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,529 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 10,096 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,396 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,776,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,334 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,143,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ESS stock traded down $2.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $300.06. The company had a trading volume of 849,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,806. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.90 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $292.37 and a 200 day moving average of $294.66.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ESS shares. Mizuho reduced their price target 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust 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.