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

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,195,000 after acquiring an additional 3,419 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.7% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.0% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 38.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.6% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ESS opened at $287.48 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.85 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $283.27 and a 200-day moving average of $285.71.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 37.08%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Raymond James Financial raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.94.

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.