111 Capital Buys New Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,166 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,955,205,000 after purchasing an additional 61,645 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $500,688,000 after buying an additional 32,102 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $471,258,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 70,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $321,928,000 after acquiring an additional 404,892 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded up $0.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $283.98. 169,360 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 409,568. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.85 and a 52 week high of $317.73. 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's 50 day moving average is $280.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.68.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $458.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Barclays upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $312.17.

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.