Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $12,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $508,381,000 after buying an additional 25,591 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,532,000 after acquiring an additional 70,785 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 acquiring an additional 183,947 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,800,000 after purchasing an additional 47,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised 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 valued at $212,583,000 after purchasing an additional 633,200 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $298.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $284.89 and a 200-day moving average of $293.29. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $225.40 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ESS. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.63.

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.