Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,719 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,194 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury owned approximately 0.20% of Essex Property Trust worth $36,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings 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 valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,041,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded down $1.10 on Friday, reaching $275.50. 241,805 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,661. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $240.58 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company's 50-day moving average is $290.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.11.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 89.08%.

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.