Citigroup Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. reduced its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 33.7%, bringing its stake to about $29.77 million, after selling 49,379 shares in the first quarter.
• Essex Property Trust reported earnings of $4.03 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations of $3.99, with a net margin of 43.51%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.57, representing an annualized yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 82.64%.

Citigroup Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 33.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,104 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 49,379 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Essex Property Trust worth $29,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at about $82,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at about $112,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 52.9% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ESS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $335.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.86.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $4.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $258.62. 382,531 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 628,276. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company's 50 day moving average price is $279.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.44. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $465.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 43.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.64%.

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.