AlphaQuest LLC Has $2.10 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 934.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 6,634 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,545 shares of company stock worth $5,840,299. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $301.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $288.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.90 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.