Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 114 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th 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. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,041,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.7 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $300.06 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.90 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.55.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change 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 3.43%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $2,724,192.66. The trade was a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.