Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 2,804 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 116,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,804 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $28,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $675,183,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after acquiring an additional 730,141 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 86.5% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,269,000 after acquiring an additional 462,828 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 119.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 412,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $102,602,000 after buying an additional 224,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $448,701,000 after buying an additional 147,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $243.50 to $267.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $262.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total value of $1,051,860.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded down $1.07 on Monday, hitting $285.67. 290,235 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 370,490. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.86. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $292.37.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.80%.

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.