Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 21,194 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH cut its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,039 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 21,194 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.20% of Essex Property Trust worth $39,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth $653,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth $705,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 133,886 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth $569,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock traded down $5.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $287.58. The company had a trading volume of 328,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,622. The firm has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a PE ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $283.82 and a 200 day moving average of $285.95.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ESS. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. 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. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.94.

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.