California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,836 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 8,170 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.16% of Essex Property Trust worth $28,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:ESS traded up $1.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $283.85. 820,599 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 410,463. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $280.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The company had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. On average, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 98.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ESS shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 target price (down previously from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.17.

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.