Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 42.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,330 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,458 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the third 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 valued at $212,583,000 after purchasing an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 183,947 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after purchasing an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $24,823,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS traded down $1.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $303.37. 376,238 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,696. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.90 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The business's 50 day moving average is $292.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

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 earnings per share 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, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.08%.

About Essex Property Trust

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.