Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 319,189 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 127,978 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.50% of Essex Property Trust worth $91,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

Essex Property Trust stock traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $261.85. 170,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,413. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $293.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.43. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.90 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

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Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 89.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of 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. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 over the last 90 days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.