Vinva Investment Management Ltd Sells 2,458 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 42.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,458 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $302.44 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.90 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This trade represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.