Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $5,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,703,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 18,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $301.55 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.90 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $288.49 and a 200-day moving average of $294.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G 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.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced 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 net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders 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

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.