51,764 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Purchased by Sophron Capital Management L.P.

Sophron Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 51,764 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $14,776,000. Essex Property Trust comprises approximately 5.8% of Sophron Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sophron Capital Management L.P. owned 0.08% of Essex Property Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $571,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 711.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 13,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,939,000 after acquiring an additional 12,100 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 301.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 34,354 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,806,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574 shares during the period. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 355.4% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 3,197 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given 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 a consensus target price of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of ESS traded down $4.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $273.68. The company had a trading volume of 242,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,865. The company has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, 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 one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $284.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.87.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

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.