Vest Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 197,251 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 9,153 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust accounts for 0.9% of Vest Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Essex Property Trust worth $60,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ESS stock traded up $1.18 on Friday, reaching $279.32. 344,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 415,015. The company has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $278.66 and a 200-day moving average of $288.31. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million during 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 98.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESS. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust 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.