Bailard Inc. Has $303,000 Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Bailard Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 56.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 989 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $82,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 52.9% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock traded down $5.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $287.58. The company had a trading volume of 328,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,622. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $283.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.95. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 37.08% and a return on equity of 11.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 98.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 price objective (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $310.94.

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.