Vinva Investment Management Ltd Sells 2,458 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,458 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 607,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $173,475,000 after purchasing an additional 36,451 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $297,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 36,761 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 28,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $302.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $291.82 and its 200-day moving average is $294.67. 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 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 89.08%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.