Resolution Capital Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Resolution Capital Ltd lessened its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 517,032 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 133,147 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust accounts for 2.7% of Resolution Capital Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Resolution Capital Ltd owned approximately 0.80% of Essex Property Trust worth $147,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 154,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,550,000 after purchasing an additional 15,087 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 13,935 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $278.07 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $285.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.06. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.85 and a 1 year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $312.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last 90 days. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.