Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,590 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 15.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,712,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,419,056,000 after buying an additional 874,625 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $476,588,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.0% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,473,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $307,504,000 after buying an additional 29,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,137,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $237,835,000 after buying an additional 68,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $235.17 on Friday. 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 $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.85. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.