Bridgefront Capital LLC Acquires New Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,088,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $471,258,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $321,928,000 after purchasing an additional 404,892 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted 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 valued at $162,925,000 after purchasing an additional 222,713 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% in 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. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings 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 worth $64,443,000 after purchasing an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business'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 sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded up $0.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $282.62. 214,010 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 402,839. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $286.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.42. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 note on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.11.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.