Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,389 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,114 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of Essex Property Trust worth $15,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ESS. UBS Group decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.94.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $287.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.69. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 37.08%. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.37%.

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.