Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 6,342 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 121.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,549 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 6,342 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.11.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,724,192.66. The trade was a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last ninety days. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE ESS traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $282.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 214,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,839. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.85 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $286.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.50.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $464.58 million for 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 previous year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 98.37%.

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.