68,041 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Acquired by Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 68,041 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $19,422,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.11% of Essex Property Trust at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $471,258,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $321,928,000 after buying an additional 404,892 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,786 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $162,925,000 after buying an additional 222,713 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,835,000 after acquiring an additional 185,958 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after acquiring an additional 150,927 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $282.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.36. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $2.57 dividend. 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 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 98.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $1,988,843.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % 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. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $308.11.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ESS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.