New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,466 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.09% of Essex Property Trust worth $13,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ESS. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5,069.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 208,651 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,253,000 after purchasing an additional 204,615 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 13.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 776,149 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $164,233,000 after acquiring an additional 89,198 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 173.9% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 135,008 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,634,000 after acquiring an additional 85,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 9.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 828,191 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $175,651,000 after acquiring an additional 71,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.
Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.7 %
Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded down $1.77 on Tuesday, reaching $246.25. 595,044 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,699. The company has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.80. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $252.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $239.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.26.
Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 155.31%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have commented on ESS shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $225.00 to $223.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $227.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $246.16.
Check Out Our Latest Report on ESS
Essex Property Trust Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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