DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Reduces Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,068 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,129 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $14,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 85.2% in 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 period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ESS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 price target (down previously from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $286.54. 528,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,074. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $283.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.70.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 98.37%.

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.