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

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. 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 SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 711.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 13,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,939,000 after purchasing an additional 12,100 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 301.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 34,354 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,806,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 355.4% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 3,197 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 175,435 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,076,000 after purchasing an additional 23,842 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ESS. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho decreased 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 target price (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ESS stock traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $279.57. 156,552 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 407,148. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $281.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.18. The stock has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction 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 $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

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.