Sigma Planning Corp Sells 1,649 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 59.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,146 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,649 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,639,000 after acquiring an additional 357,268 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5,069.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 208,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,253,000 after acquiring an additional 204,615 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 13.0% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 776,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $164,233,000 after acquiring an additional 89,198 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 173.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 135,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,634,000 after acquiring an additional 85,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 9.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 828,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $175,651,000 after acquiring an additional 71,359 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $291.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $246.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.13, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $238.81 and its 200-day moving average is $231.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $252.85. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $2.45 dividend. 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 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 155.31%.

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.