Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,719 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,194 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury owned 0.20% of Essex Property Trust worth $36,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $1.10 during trading hours 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. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $240.58 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $290.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.08.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. As a group, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.11.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

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.