Raymond James & Associates Cuts Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Raymond James & Associates decreased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS – Get Rating) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,561 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. FORA Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 9,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 3,857 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 150,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,822,000 after purchasing an additional 50,610 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 37,307 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,906,000 after purchasing an additional 8,063 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 6,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the period. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 4,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 91.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $204.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $208.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $242.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.18.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $209.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.47. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $195.03 and a 12-month high of $300.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 14th. Investors of record on Friday, June 30th will be given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.55%.

About Essex Property Trust

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Essex Property Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust. It engages in the ownership, operation, management, acquisition, development, and redevelopment of predominantly apartment communities. The company was founded by George M. Marcus in 1971 and is headquartered in San Mateo, CA.