Landmark Investment Partners L.P. Makes New $25.24 Million Investment in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Landmark Investment Partners L.P. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 88,427 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $25,241,000. Essex Property Trust accounts for about 10.2% of Landmark Investment Partners L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Landmark Investment Partners L.P. owned about 0.14% of Essex Property Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $8.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $292.85. The company had a trading volume of 413,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,614. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $288.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.76.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $2.57 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $306.79.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. 3.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.