Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Decreases Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.05% of Essex Property Trust worth $9,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 78.0% during the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 21,352 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,095,000 after buying an additional 9,354 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 588.0% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,133 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,334 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,698,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ESS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $294.95 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.90 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $289.57 and its 200 day moving average is $294.60. The company has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 issued 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 return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.08%.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.