Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Position Cut by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 272,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,611 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of Essex Property Trust worth $67,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 12,954 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 49,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,943 shares during the period. JLP Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $2,802,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $3,304,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ESS. Scotiabank raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.28.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $281.29 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $203.85 and a one year high of $282.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.84. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $255.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $244.34.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

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.