Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp reduced its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 162.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,109,000 after acquiring an additional 46,354 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,611,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at $541,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,545 shares of company stock worth $5,840,299. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $301.55 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $288.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.90 and a 52-week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. 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 is currently 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.