Pensionfund DSM Netherlands Sells 3,000 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Pensionfund DSM Netherlands lowered its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust accounts for about 2.0% of Pensionfund DSM Netherlands’ holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Pensionfund DSM Netherlands’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 104.5% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1,247.2% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.17.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

ESS traded down $1.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $283.23. The stock had a trading volume of 15,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,484. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $295.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.73. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $223.06 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.49%.

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.