UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Acquires 1,627 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,995 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,611,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $541,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,192.66. This trade represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

ESS stock opened at $304.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.76. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.90 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.16.

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.