Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 209 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 14.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $470,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $226,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 14.4% in the third quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,724,192.66. This trade represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,545 shares of company stock worth $5,840,299 in the last quarter. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $301.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.51. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.63.

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.