New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $16 Million Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,068 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,626 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Essex Property Trust worth $16,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $84,393,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $392,766,000 after acquiring an additional 183,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after purchasing an additional 150,927 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $291.31. The stock had a trading volume of 594,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,745. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $225.40 and a one year high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $285.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.81. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 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, analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.92%.

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.