Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 367 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 53,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 367 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $13,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $245.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $239.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.44. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $252.85. The stock has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 155.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. StockNews.com raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $247.24.

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.