FourThought Financial Partners LLC Trims Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Lincoln National Corp grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $227.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Raymond James raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $247.24.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:ESS traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $250.31. 399,522 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 396,183. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.19. The company has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $240.34 and a 200 day moving average of $232.99. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $253.53.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 119.80%.

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.