Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $66.76 Million Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 233,895 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,322 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $66,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESS. Assetmark Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 104.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth $89,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $291.91 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.06 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $286.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.42. 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 (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $305.74.

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.