Tredje AP fonden Decreases Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Tredje AP fonden cut its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,095 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,095 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $721,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,004,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 237,217 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $70,079,000 after acquiring an additional 9,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 162.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $22,109,000 after acquiring an additional 46,354 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.16.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, hitting $299.43. 354,624 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 358,266. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $230.90 and a one 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $290.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.58. The company has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 89.08%.

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.