Baird Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,311 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Essex Property Trust worth $22,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 4,624 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,041,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $286.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. 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 1 year low of $243.85 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $288.05 and a 200-day moving average of $290.60.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. This is an increase 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 98.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Barclays cut their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $306.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.46% 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.

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