Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Holdings Decreased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 66.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,665 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,149 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESS. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Wall Street Zen lowered Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 target price (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $285.04 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.78. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $281.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.95.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 37.08%. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 98.37%.

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.

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