Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $292,000 Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 74.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,022 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,905 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $210,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.2% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 5,823 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $645,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,881 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,624,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $304.69. The company had a trading volume of 287,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 469,738. 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 market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.90 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company's 50-day moving average is $293.64 and its 200-day moving average is $294.69.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

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 transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.