Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 957,038 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 18,778 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.49% of Essex Property Trust worth $273,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE ESS traded down $1.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $275.50. 241,805 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,307. The stock has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $290.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.08. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $240.58 and a 1 year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.11.

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.