Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 220,708 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 48.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,690 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 220,708 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Essex Property Trust worth $58,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 89.4% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Raymond James raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $227.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ESS traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.17. The stock had a trading volume of 335,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,329. The company has a market cap of $15.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $252.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $237.29 and a 200 day moving average of $230.51.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 155.31%.

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.