Sarasin & Partners LLP Has $4.36 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Sarasin & Partners LLP cut its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,005 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 237.7% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $443,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 315,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,867,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $283.20 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $293.18 and a 200-day moving average of $291.80. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.06 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price target on the stock. 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. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $305.42.

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.