Davis Selected Advisers Sells 210 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Davis Selected Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,241 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $9,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,545 shares of company stock worth $5,840,299 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESS. Barclays raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE ESS opened at $301.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $230.90 and a one year high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $288.49 and its 200-day moving average is $294.51.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

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.