Rhumbline Advisers Sells 1,304 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,886 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,304 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $36,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $508,381,000 after purchasing an additional 25,591 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after buying an additional 183,947 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $222,800,000 after acquiring an additional 47,114 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $212,583,000 after acquiring an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.53.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $290.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $225.40 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. On average, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 84.92%.

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.