Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 515 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $508,381,000 after buying an additional 25,591 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,800,000 after buying an additional 47,114 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 269,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $277.43 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.06 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $290.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.10.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on ESS shares. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Raymond James cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.32.

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.