Swiss National Bank Sells 9,100 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Essex Property Trust worth $51,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $212,583,000 after acquiring an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $392,766,000 after acquiring an additional 183,947 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,443,000 after acquiring an additional 150,927 shares during the period. Finally, Waterfront Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,823,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $299.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 354,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,479. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.90 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $290.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.58.

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, 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, research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share 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 given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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. Evercore ISI upped 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 report on Monday, February 10th. 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 for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.16.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.