Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,652 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $10,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $288.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.90 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.60.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.16.

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.