Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Purchased by Natixis

Natixis raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 108.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,956 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,611,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $7,027,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.3 %

ESS stock opened at $275.37 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $235.40 and a twelve month 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 1.15. The company has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $291.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.51.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $2.57 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ESS. Truist Financial upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.11.

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.