Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $294.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.06 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $298.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.64.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share 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 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. Barclays began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.11.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.