Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Invests $271,000 in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 949 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,028 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 17,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,964,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $2,733,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,334 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,093,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 541,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $154,635,000 after acquiring an additional 97,350 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 over the last three months. 3.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock traded down $2.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $275.64. 42,795 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 470,135. 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 52 week low of $243.85 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $284.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.