Norges Bank Takes Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,650,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $471,258,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 2.57% of Essex Property Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 74.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $236,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 82,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,437,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 45,899 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $305.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $294.51 and its 200 day moving average is $294.80. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, equities 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ESS shares. 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 note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.