Two Sigma Advisers LP Boosts Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 711.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 12,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,904. The trade was a 61.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 3.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE ESS traded up $2.66 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $280.83. 269,155 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,607. The company has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $281.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.18.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million for 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 period last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 98.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.