abrdn plc Trims Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

abrdn plc cut its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 139,439 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 811 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $39,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,690 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $442,000. Vert Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 28,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,097,000 after purchasing an additional 2,366 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $296.24 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.06 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $287.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.33. 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 cap of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.92.

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 net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.32.

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.