Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $2.50 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,771 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $471,258,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $321,928,000 after purchasing an additional 404,892 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,786 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $162,925,000 after purchasing an additional 222,713 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,835,000 after purchasing an additional 185,958 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on 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 cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 price target (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $279.32. 344,969 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 414,159. 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 one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $278.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.31. The company has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company 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 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 currently 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.