Cozad Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,241 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 533 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 173.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 135,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,634,000 after acquiring an additional 85,725 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.0% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $225.00 to $223.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.16.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE ESS opened at $246.25 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $239.32 and its 200 day moving average is $232.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $252.85.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 155.31%.

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.