Two Sigma Advisers LP Buys 12,100 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 711.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring 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 and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho decreased 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 research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE ESS traded up $1.22 on Friday, reaching $283.30. The company had a trading volume of 122,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,795. The firm has a market cap of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $280.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.02. 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 (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. Analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.