Bramshill Investments LLC Acquires New Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Bramshill Investments LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $3.19 on Thursday, reaching $281.75. 438,298 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 402,847. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50 day moving average is $287.52 and its 200-day moving average is $290.56. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. 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. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business'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 transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 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. 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 boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $306.79.

About Essex Property Trust

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.