Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Sells 288 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 288 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 24.8% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.2% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 88,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $475,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,614,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,667,195,000 after buying an additional 184,047 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.6% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,530,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.0 %

ESS stock opened at $232.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.48.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. 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. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 155.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $291.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.37.

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.