Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank reduced its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ESS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after buying an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $392,766,000 after acquiring an additional 183,947 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,443,000 after acquiring an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 205.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 202,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,838,000 after purchasing an additional 136,240 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $311.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $226.84 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $286.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.76.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.63.

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.