Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys 2,725 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 48.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,302 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 154,194 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,550,000 after buying an additional 15,087 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 538 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,359 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $442,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESS. Barclays increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. 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 raised 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. 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 investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS traded up $1.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $283.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 820,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,463. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $280.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.91. 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 1 year low of $243.85 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company 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.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $458.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $2.57 dividend. 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Corporate insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.