Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 515 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 515 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 104.5% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $277.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $290.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.10. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $223.06 and a one year high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.32.

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.