Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Has $83.34 Million Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 291,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 18,670 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.45% of Essex Property Trust worth $83,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,774,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $471,258,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,995 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,792,000 after acquiring an additional 5,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 156.7% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 59,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,012,000 after buying an additional 36,382 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.16.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

ESS stock opened at $304.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $294.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.76. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.90 and a twelve month high of $317.73. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced 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%. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.