Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,051 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,661 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,051 shares during the quarter. Essex Property Trust accounts for approximately 1.3% of Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $13,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during 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 period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during 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 period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $1.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $275.50. 241,805 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,307. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $240.58 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $290.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.11.

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.