Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.1 %

ESS opened at $302.44 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.90 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.