Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stock Holdings Increased by GeoWealth Management LLC

GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $471,258,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,835,000 after purchasing an additional 185,958 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,443,000 after purchasing an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $36,450,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $35,701,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $275.37 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $291.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.51. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $234.77 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, 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 transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ESS. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI lifted 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 note on Monday, February 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.11.

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.