Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 46.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $90,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $470,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $226,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $301.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.90 and a 1-year high of $317.73. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $288.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.56.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

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 stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s 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. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,545 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,299. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.63.

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.