GeoWealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,750 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,955,205,000 after buying an additional 61,645 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $500,688,000 after acquiring an additional 32,102 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $471,258,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $426,532,000 after acquiring an additional 70,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $220,612,000 after purchasing an additional 18,704 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:ESS traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $278.00. 143,284 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 483,507. 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 market cap of $17.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $290.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.18. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $240.57 and a one 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is 89.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.11.

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.