Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,548 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Essex Property Trust worth $9,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $508,381,000 after acquiring an additional 25,591 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $222,800,000 after purchasing an additional 47,114 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $131,282,000 after buying an additional 269,923 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.74.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $6.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $291.91. The stock had a trading volume of 444,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,074. The firm has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $286.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.42. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.06 and a twelve month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.92%.

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.