Leeward Investments LLC MA Trims Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Leeward Investments LLC MA lowered its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 39,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $9,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 12,954 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,304,000. JLP Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,802,000. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 16.2% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Raymond James raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

ESS stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $246.92. 421,911 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 399,327. The company has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.80.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.31%.

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.