Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 10,096 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lowered its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 42.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,096 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after acquiring an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after purchasing an additional 269,923 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,443,000 after buying an additional 150,927 shares during the period. Finally, Waterfront Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth about $24,823,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $298.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $230.90 and a one year high of $317.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $290.69 and a 200 day moving average of $294.58.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ESS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

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.