Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Bought by Natixis

Natixis raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 108.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,914 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 12,956 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in 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. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th 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. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ESS stock traded down $1.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $275.50. 241,805 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 400,396. The firm has a market capitalization 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. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $240.58 and a 52-week high of $317.73. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $290.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.02.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.11.

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.