Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust comprises 1.3% of Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $13,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,017,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 8,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 18,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,392,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Natixis raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 108.3% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 24,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,111,000 after purchasing an additional 12,956 shares during the period. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 5,772 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of ESS opened at $271.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $235.40 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $291.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.38. The firm has a market cap of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

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 (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $2.57 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 over the last three months. 3.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.