Virtu Financial LLC Sells 2,753 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Virtu Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 75.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,753 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho decreased 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.3 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $305.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.90 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $294.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.80. 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 (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly 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%. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.08%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.