Provident Investment Management Inc. Has $1.99 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Provident Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,974 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,350 shares during the quarter. Essex Property Trust accounts for about 0.2% of Provident Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Provident Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,611,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $7,027,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at about $541,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of ESS traded down $4.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $249.97. 187,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 392,977. The company has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $293.09. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.90 and a 12-month high of $317.73. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.