BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $33.93 Million Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 118,860 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 17,594 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.18% of Essex Property Trust worth $33,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $471,258,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $321,928,000 after acquiring an additional 404,892 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,835,000 after acquiring an additional 185,958 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,450,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS traded up $0.97 on Friday, reaching $282.62. The company had a trading volume of 214,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,633. The company's fifty day moving average is $286.38 and its 200 day moving average is $290.36. 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 market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The company had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. 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 3.64%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 98.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $308.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.