Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. trimmed its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 82.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,780 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 101,050 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th 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 period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $1.10 on Friday, reaching $275.50. 241,805 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,396. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $240.58 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The business's 50-day moving average is $290.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, 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 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, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 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.