Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS – Get Rating) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 522,920 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 48,689 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.81% of Essex Property Trust worth $126,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $124,907,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 377.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 506,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,384,000 after buying an additional 400,270 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.1% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,818,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,651,748,000 after purchasing an additional 390,858 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,517,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,348,129,000 after purchasing an additional 314,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $74,981,000. 91.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $284.00 to $267.00 in a report on Friday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $242.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.15.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $207.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.74. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.24 and a 52-week high of $363.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $225.07 and its 200-day moving average is $226.99.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.20. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 140.13%.

About Essex Property Trust

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Essex Property Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust. It engages in the ownership, operation, management, acquisition, development, and redevelopment of predominantly apartment communities. The company was founded by George M. Marcus in 1971 and is headquartered in San Mateo, CA.