Vestcor Inc Boosts Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 588.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,133 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $508,381,000 after purchasing an additional 25,591 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,532,000 after buying an additional 70,785 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after acquiring an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,612,000 after acquiring an additional 18,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $212,583,000 after acquiring an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $294.95 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $289.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.60. The company has a market capitalization of $18.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a PEG 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 89.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by 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.