Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Purchased by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 136,660 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 9,774 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.21% of Essex Property Trust worth $41,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 4,624 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,126 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS traded down $4.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $278.23. The stock had a trading volume of 676,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,772. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.48.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 98.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust 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.