Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Intact Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 54.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,800 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,719,000 after buying an additional 12,954 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $132,639,000 after buying an additional 357,268 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,304,000. JLP Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,802,000. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $246.92. The stock had a trading volume of 422,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 317,451. The company has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $238.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $231.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $252.85.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $2.45 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 155.31%.

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.