Federated Hermes Inc. Decreases Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 34.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 128.5% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 457 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ESS. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.76.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $255.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a current ratio of 3.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $240.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.28. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $203.85 and a one year high of $255.66.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

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.