Squarepoint Ops LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Squarepoint Ops LLC trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,887 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,905 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ESS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,955,205,000 after acquiring an additional 61,645 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $500,688,000 after purchasing an additional 32,102 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $471,258,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $426,532,000 after purchasing an additional 70,785 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $321,928,000 after purchasing an additional 404,892 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock traded up $5.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $274.97. The company had a trading volume of 394,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,344. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $282.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.35. The company has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.85 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.78.

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.