Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Camelot Portfolios LLC

Camelot Portfolios LLC reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust accounts for approximately 1.3% of Camelot Portfolios LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Camelot Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 633,200 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $84,393,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 154.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 269,923 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $392,766,000 after acquiring an additional 183,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,443,000 after acquiring an additional 150,927 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.0 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $294.47 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.40 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.92. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $285.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.81.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 84.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of 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. 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 stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.63.

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.