Pensionfund DSM Netherlands Cuts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Pensionfund DSM Netherlands lowered its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Essex Property Trust comprises approximately 2.0% of Pensionfund DSM Netherlands’ holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Pensionfund DSM Netherlands’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESS. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America lowered Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price target on the stock. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $305.17.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ESS traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $283.23. 15,887 shares of the stock were exchanged, 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’s 50 day moving average is $295.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.73. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.06 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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