Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys New Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,856 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $653,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,027,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $705,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 target price (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $2.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $285.04. The company had a trading volume of 579,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,173. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $281.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 37.08%. The company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $458.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

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.