First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Trims Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. trimmed its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 892 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 645.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ESS. Mizuho upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America raised Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.76.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.2 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $254.50 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $258.06. The stock has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $241.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

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.