23,731 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Purchased by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 23,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $6,774,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.2% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 5,823 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,160,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $304.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $294.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.76. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.16.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.