Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC Sells 53 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 784 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESS. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,166 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,011 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,128,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 11,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 140,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,508,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $301.41 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $225.40 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $293.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.63.

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.