MQS Management LLC Reduces Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

MQS Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 72.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 873 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,281 shares during the quarter. Essex Property Trust comprises about 7.1% of MQS Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 934.4% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after buying an additional 6,634 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 61,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,526,000 after buying an additional 9,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,027,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,545 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,299. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $301.55 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.90 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

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.