Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 20,915 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 65.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,259 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 20,915 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 85.2% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 price target (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded down $1.94 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $281.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 99,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,251. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $280.57 and a 200 day moving average of $288.68. The company has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. 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 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. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 98.37%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

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.