Davis Selected Advisers Lowers Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust by 16.6%, holding 27,731 shares valued at approximately $8.5 million after selling 5,510 shares in the first quarter.
• Essex Property Trust recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.0% and a payout ratio of 82.64%.
• Following recent earnings, where the company reported $4.03 EPS, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $308.26.

Davis Selected Advisers decreased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,731 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,510 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers' holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $82,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $104,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $120,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS traded down $2.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $254.48. The stock had a trading volume of 367,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,696. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $466.47 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.94 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Barclays increased 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 report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. UBS Group cut their price target 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, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven 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 $308.26.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.