Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Sells 1,709 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,709 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $471,258,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,835,000 after buying an additional 185,958 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after buying an additional 150,927 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $36,450,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 733,204 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $209,286,000 after acquiring an additional 123,698 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ESS traded up $3.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $275.37. The stock had a trading volume of 361,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,435. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $234.77 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.51. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. 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. 3.46% of the stock is owned by company 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.