Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 417 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 417 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ESS. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,719,000 after acquiring an additional 12,954 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $3,304,000. JLP Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,802,000. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.76.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS traded up $5.18 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $255.49. The stock had a trading volume of 282,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,287. The stock has a market cap of $16.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a current ratio of 3.19. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $255.66.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. 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 3.84%. Essex Property Trust’s 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.