Virtu Financial LLC Sells 2,753 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 75.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,753 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESS. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.3 %

ESS stock opened at $305.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.90 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $294.51 and its 200 day moving average is $294.80.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. 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%.

Essex Property Trust 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.