24,617 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $7,027,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,334,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,611,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,408,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vert Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 28,367 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,097,000 after buying an additional 2,366 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $4.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.36. 28,287 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,304. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $240.58 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.00.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ESS. Truist Financial lifted 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. Mizuho dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value 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 represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.