Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. lessened its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 82.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,780 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 101,050 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,041,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.11.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $275.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 241,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,307. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, 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 $240.58 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $290.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.08. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. On average, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

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.