Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Position Lowered by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,698 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,884 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $10,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $471,258,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,835,000 after buying an additional 185,958 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,443,000 after buying an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $36,450,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $35,701,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $306.79.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $8.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $292.85. 413,258 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 399,797. The company has a market capitalization of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $288.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.69.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 98.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last ninety days. 3.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.