Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 11,916 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lowered its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 88.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 11,916 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 26.3% in the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 2,178 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 38,717 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,868,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $653,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth $237,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $284.90. 677,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,974. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $282.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.83. The company has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. 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 (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 period last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 98.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.28.

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.