Fmr LLC Has $175.34 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Fmr LLC cut its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 614,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 250,041 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $175,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $263.17 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. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.90 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $293.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.19.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,192.66. The trade was a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESS. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.11.

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.