Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $362,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth about $82,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $280.54 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $283.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 37.08% and a return on equity of 11.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 98.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 price target (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.94.

About Essex Property Trust

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.