Ossiam Has $985,000 Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Ossiam decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 497 shares during the period. Ossiam’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,611,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,027,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,408,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $271.23 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $235.40 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $291.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $2.57 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report 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 assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust 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.