First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,611 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 11,587 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $471,258,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,835,000 after buying an additional 185,958 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after acquiring an additional 150,927 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $36,450,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,701,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $306.79.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded up $8.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $292.85. 413,258 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,796. The stock has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, 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 quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $288.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.76. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Company 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.