Fisher Asset Management LLC Trims Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 631 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $675,183,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after purchasing an additional 730,141 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 119.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 412,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $102,602,000 after buying an additional 224,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5,069.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 208,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,253,000 after buying an additional 204,615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. 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. Raymond James raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $239.50 to $243.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.28.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $280.08 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $284.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.31. The company has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 3.19.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

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.