Jump Financial LLC Trims Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Jump Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 71.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,051 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 25,391 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted 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 note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research 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, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $277.75. The stock had a trading volume of 90,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,262. The company's 50-day moving average is $290.82 and its 200 day moving average is $291.28. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.37 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 89.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, 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 transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

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.