Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Sells 19,874 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. decreased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,678 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 19,874 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.28% of Essex Property Trust worth $52,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $89,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $276.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.06 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $290.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.29.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.49%.

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.