Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio decreased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,441 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,377 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.6% during the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 25.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.2% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 89.4% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $233.97 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $237.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 month high of $252.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a PE ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.80.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust 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.