Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Boosts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $508,381,000 after purchasing an additional 25,591 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,532,000 after buying an additional 70,785 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,612,000 after buying an additional 18,704 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after buying an additional 633,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE ESS opened at $305.79 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $294.51 and a 200 day moving average of $294.61. The company has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.90 and a 1 year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Truist Financial raised their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This trade 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 have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

About Essex Property Trust

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.