Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 35,500.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 448,205 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 446,946 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.70% of Essex Property Trust worth $137,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 216.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 19.2% during the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,078 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 100,836 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,783,000 after buying an additional 8,170 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $333,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,771 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE ESS traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $281.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 89,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 411,452. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $279.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.48.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 posted $3.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESS. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 price target (down previously from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $312.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.