Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Sells 113,455 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 62.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 113,455 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $21,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $653,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $7,027,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $705,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 target price (down previously from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $285.04 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 37.08% and a return on equity of 11.81%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 98.37%.

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.