Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 367 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 367 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.08% of Essex Property Trust worth $13,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 978,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $207,560,000 after acquiring an additional 55,903 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 828,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,651,000 after acquiring an additional 71,359 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 776,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $164,233,000 after acquiring an additional 89,198 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 643,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $136,427,000 after acquiring an additional 32,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,639,000 after acquiring an additional 357,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $239.50 to $243.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $291.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $247.24.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $245.25 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $239.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.44. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $252.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.26.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 155.31%.

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.