Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $8.03 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,079 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Essex Property Trust worth $8,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,643 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,631,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 40,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,212,000 after purchasing an additional 6,743 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 143,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,374,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.5 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $249.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $236.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.54. The company has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.80. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $281.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.10.

About Essex Property Trust

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.