Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 669,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 14,792 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned about 1.04% of Essex Property Trust worth $191,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $508,381,000 after acquiring an additional 25,591 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,532,000 after purchasing an additional 70,785 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,612,000 after purchasing an additional 18,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the third 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. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,192.66. This trade represents a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,545 shares of company stock worth $5,840,299 in the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho dropped their price target 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. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.0 %

ESS stock opened at $301.55 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.90 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $288.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.60. 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 (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS 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 issued a $2.57 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.08%.

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.