Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Cuts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 62,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,389,000 after acquiring an additional 5,887 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Group LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 236,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,549,000 after buying an additional 34,931 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 256.0% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $675,183,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $259.40. 225,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 347,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 3.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $247.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.88. The company has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.79. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $269.23.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $239.50 to $243.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.28.

Essex Property Trust Profile

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.