Amundi Has $26.83 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Amundi reduced its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,422 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,223 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.15% of Essex Property Trust worth $26,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $288.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $289.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

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.