BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Decreases Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 43.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,294 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 999 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $369,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in 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 worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $276.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $290.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.11. The company has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $240.58 and a 12-month high of $317.73. 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 (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 return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.