Unigestion Holding SA Has $1.55 Million Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Unigestion Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 114.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $442,000. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 7,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,065,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanderbilt University increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 4,547 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ESS traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $279.32. 344,969 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 415,629. The company has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.16.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Mizuho cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 price target (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.