Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Holdings Decreased by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,282 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,369 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,041,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 6.9 %

Essex Property Trust stock traded up $17.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $272.34. 892,548 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,044. The company's 50-day moving average is $294.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.90 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $17.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

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, 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%. On average, analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of Essex Property Trust 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company'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 value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. The trade was 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 sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.