Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 119,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $33,992,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.19% of Essex Property Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 112.4% in the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 41,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,703,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares during the last quarter. Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $358,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,302 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 34,354 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,806,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ESS shares. Mizuho cut their price objective 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.17.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 in the last ninety days. 3.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded up $1.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $283.85. 820,599 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 409,928. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day moving average is $280.96 and its 200-day moving average is $289.02. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.85 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.