Mariner LLC Trims Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Mariner LLC lessened its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 410 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ESS. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 154,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,550,000 after acquiring an additional 15,087 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $575,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $217,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of ESS stock opened at $271.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $291.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $235.40 and a 12-month high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.